French take big step by beating Lithuania

NBA star guard Tony Parker scored 27 points and France took a big step toward reaching the medal playoffs in the Olympic men's basketball tournament by defeating Lithuania 82-74 on Thursday. France improved to 2-1 in preliminary Group A, trailing only the US collection of NBA stars, while Lithuania sunk to 1-2 and must face the Americans next. The French finish group play with Nigeria and winless Tunisia. Parker's 3-pointer at the end of the third period gave France a 59-52 lead and the French began the fourth quarter with an 11-2 run to seize command, speed and passing helping to spread the scoring among four players. Nicolas Batum added 21 points and six rebounds as well as some emphatic blocked shots while NBA standout Boris Diaw added 10 points for France. Linas Kleiza of the NBA Toronto Raptors led Lithuania with 17 points while Martynas Pocius contributed 15.