Danilo Gallinari turned in another solid performance but could not keep the Italian national team from falling to Serbia Wednesday in the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
The Oklahoma City Thunder forward finished with a team-high 26 points and eight rebounds in the 92-77 loss.
After making quick work of Angola on Monday, Italy could not contain Bogdan Bogdanovic, who scored a game-high 31 points.
This one was closely contested through the first two quarters, with a score of 50-42 at the half.
Gallinari opened the scoring for Italy in the third quarter with a layup. He then hit a pair of three-pointers, the second bringing the score to 55-53 with 6:32 remaining in the quarter. He would add free throws and a layup in the fourth.
In 33:36 game-time minutes, Gallinari was 8-of-13 from the floor and he hit 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. He was also 7-of-10 from the free-throw line, pulled down eight rebounds and dished one assist. Gallinari is averaging 16.3 points and 5.7 rebounds through the first round of the tournament.
The loss is the first for the Italians. They advanced to the second round prior to the start of the game, and will play Spain on Friday, Sept. 6, at 20:30 (GMT+8).
