Brazil holds off Serbia 81-73 at Basketball World Cup, Turkey and Slovenia avoid upsets
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Brazil's Nene Hilario, right, fights for position with Serbia's Vladimir Stimac during the Group A Basketball World Cup match in Granada, Spain, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014. The 2014 Basketball World Cup competition will take place in various cities in Spain from Aug. 30 through to Sept. 14. (AP Photo/Daniel Tejedor) (The Associated Press)
On a day when Brazil's NBA players struggled, forward Marquinhos Vieira made six 3-pointers Wednesday to help secure an 81-73 win over Serbia at the Basketball World Cup.
Brazil improved to 3-1 in Group A after weathering Serbia's (2-2) explosive third quarter, when it erased an 18-point deficit.
Vieira finished with a game-high 21 points. Leandro Barbosa of the Phoenix Suns added 16 points, and San Antonio Spurs center Tiago Splitter helped secure Brazil's win with a breakaway dunk after a steal by Larry Taylor.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Spain (3-0) plays France (2-1) later in the same group.
Elsewhere, Turkey needed Cenk Akyol's tying 3-pointer with 4.2 seconds remaining to beat Finland 77-73 in overtime in Group C, while Slovenia came back to beat Angola 93-87 in Group D.