Teodosic scores 24 points as Serbia holds off France to reach Final

Madrid, Spain (SportsNetwork.com) -Milos Teodosic scored 24 points to help Serbia defeat France, 90-85, in the semifinals of the FIBA World Cup on Friday.
Bogdan Bogdanovic tallied 13 points and Nemanja Bjelica added 10 for the Serbs, who will make their first appearance in a World Cup final when they take on the United States on Sunday.

Nicolas Batum scored 17 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter to lead a furious near-comeback for the Frenchmen, while Boris Diaw netted 13 points and Thomas Heurtel checked in with 12 in the setback.

France grabbed a 10-9 lead on a Batum 3-pointer midway through the first quarter, then Serbia busted off 11 straight to take a 20-10 advantage.
Evan Fournier, however, converted a jumper to quell the surge, and another trey from Batum late cut France's deficit to 21-15 after the opening period.

The Serbians scored the first nine points of the second quarter, however, with Miroslav Raduljica capping the spurt on a driving dunk for a 30-15 edge. Serbia, which forced 10 turnovers in the opening half, led by as many as 18 in the second quarter before taking a 46-32 margin into the break.

France would then regroup in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to 61-51 early in then frame. Diaw and Batum both knocked down threes shortly afterward to make it a six-point spread, 63-57, with just over six minutes remaining.

Fournier buried a trey less than a minute later as France, which committed just two turnovers in the second half, continued to chip away.

Bogdanovic answered by hitting a 3-pointer following a timeout, but Batum's long-range shot proved successful again to cut the lead to four, 70-66, with 4 1/2 minutes to go. A pair of free throws from Heurtel with under a minute left made it a three-point game, then Heurtel knocked down 1-of-2 at the line following an empty possession from Serbia to trim the deficit to 84-82.

Nikola Kalinic then calmly hit a pair of free throws at the other end as Serbia held on to ensure a berth in the final.