FIBA quarterfinals: Serbia carve up Brazil in blowout win

A dominant third quarter by Serbia sent Brazil packing in the FIBA Basketball World Cup quarterfinals, burying them under a barrage of offense in a 84-56 blowout win.

After taking a five-point lead into halftime, the Serbs opened up the second half on a 21-6 run, finishing the quarter with a 29-12 advantage and a 22-point lead that Brazil never recovered from.

Serbia was able to negate the size and skill of Brazil's three NBA-level big men - Nene, Tiago Splitter, and Anderson Varejao - by dragging them to the perimeter on high screens and carving up the coverage. Serbia ran with a three-guard lineup for most of the quarter, and when the Brazilian big men sagged back, the Serbs punished them with open three-pointers. When the Brazilians hedged on screens, Serbia's ball movement led to easy baskets around the hoop.

Milos Teodosic paced Serbia, scoring 16 of his game-high 23 points in the first half, and moving the ball in the second half for four assists after Brazil attempted to take away his outside shot.

It's a disappointing result for Brazil, who faded quickly in the second half as things began to slip away. Down by nine early in the third quarter, both Splitter and Marquinhos Vieira took technical fouls, fueling the Serbian run that would decide the game.

Brazil's inability to get stops on the perimeter cost them dearly against a team that was unafraid to toss up outside shots at any opportunity. Serbia went 9-of-25 from three-point range for the game, which opened up the interior and allowed them to hit 59 percent of their two-point shots.

Brazil's ball movement dried up during the deficit, and without the perimeter talent to create shots their offense dried up along with it. They ended the game shooting 33 percent from the floor, nowhere near enough to get out of the hole they dug in the third quarter.