France snaps Team USA basketball's 58-game winning streak

Sept. 11 (UPI) -- France snapped the United States men's basketball team's 58-game winning streak in international competition with an 89-79 win in the 2019 FIBA World Cup quarterfinals Wednesday in Dongguan, China.

The loss was Team USA's first setback at the FIBA World Cup since 2006. Team USA can finish no better than fifth at the 2019 FIBA World Cup, failing to medal for the second time in the last 10 editions of the tournament.

France will take on Argentina in the semifinals. Team USA battles Serbia in a consolation game at 7 a.m. EDT Thursday in Dongguan.

"It's the best French team I've seen because they play at both ends of the court," Team USA coach Gregg Popovich told reporters. "It's not just an offensive team that executes well. It's not just a couple of guys on their own."

NBA stars Evan Fournier and Rudy Gobert led France with 22 points and 21 points, respectively. Gobert also grabbed 16 rebounds in the win.

"Huge win," Gobert said. "It was a very talented team. We knew it was going to be a very tough game and it was. They didn't give us anything easy and we stuck to the game plan."

Team USA trailed 45-39 at halftime before outscoring France 27-18 in the third quarter. France trailed 66-63 to open the final frame and trailed by seven points down the stretch, but rallied to earn the victory. Fournier made a driving layup with 3:32 remaining to give France a lead that they wouldn't surrender.

Donovan Mitchell led Team USA with 29 points. France out-rebounded Team USA 44-28. Team USA shot 45 percent from the field, while France made 48 percent of its attempts. The game had 12 lead changes, with France up by as many as 10 points.

"Obviously, it's not about my game at all," Mitchell said. "I'm looking at times where guys were open who I missed. There were possessions on defense. For me, throwing the ball in the backcourt ... I could care less about the 29. To me, the only thing that sticks out is what I did wrong."

France previously was 0-9 against Team USA in major international games. Gobert and Fournier led the team against Argentina Friday in Beijing.

"Any loss hurts," Popovich said. "In this situation, it hurts more. But life goes on."