In a Close Game, the United States Beats Lithuania

Mike Segar/ReutersMartynas Pocius of Lithuania putting up a shot as he drove past LeBron James, left, Deron Williams and Chris Paul, right on Saturday.

LONDON — Midway through the fourth quarter Saturday, the players who lined the bench for USA Basketball’s men’s national team wore looks of genuine concern. They fiddled with towels and yelled encouragement to teammates, which, for the first time in a really long time, was actually necessary.
Over the previous week, the Americans looked invincible. They won their first three Olympic pool games by an average of 52.2 points and set an Olympic single-game scoring record. They played so well that they canceled their last two practices and watched other sports instead. Few expected their contest against Lithuania to be different.
But it was different. Way different. There was tension and drama and a packed arena that rooted against the favorites. There was one team that could not miss and another team that missed a lot, only this time, the Americans went cold.
The United States recovered late in the fourth quarter and held on for a 99-94 victory, but the Americans did not survive without a scare