France Advance With Win Over Italy

Turning Point: Trailing 83-82 after two Boris Diaw free-throws for France with 1:16 remaining, Italy went to Andrea Bargnani at the top of the key and his three-pointer rimmed out. Diaw then backed up Stefano Mancinelli down in the post and scored for an 85-82 lead with 36 seconds to play.

Game Hero: Boris Diaw was a player that Italy never came to terms with, scoring 13 of his 21 points in the second half.

Stats Don't Lie: France out-rebound Italy 37-29 and scored 13 second-chance points to just two for the Azzurri.

France didn't have Tony Parker for the entire fourth quarter but still managed to come from behind and beat Italy in EuroBasket Group B.

Getting 21 points from Boris Diaw and 20 from Nicolas Batum, France hit back from a 67-60 deficit at the end of the third period and prevailed, 91-84.

Les Bleus had every opportunity to cave in, especially with Parker on the bench after getting hit on the thigh, but instead dug deep against a determined Italian side that was playing some of its best basketball of the summer.

France's Steed Tchicamboud started the comeback with a three-pointer at the start of the fourth quarter and Mickael Gelabale, who missed the first half while nursing a minor injury, followed immediately after with another trey to cut the Azzurri advantage to 67-66.

Danilo Gallinari next replied with a three-pointer for the Italians, but they weren't able to put any meaningful distance between themselves and France.

Vincent Collet's French squad, still unbeaten four games into the tournament, knotted the game at 74-74 with two free-throws by Batum.

Next was Gelabale, who is proving to be France's most reliable three-point shooter at the EuroBasket.

He made a shot from the arc for a 77-74 advantage with 5:18 still to play.

The game would end up going to the final minutes with the result in doubt, though, and that's when the French went to Diaw, their versatile forward.

After Gallinari split a pair of free-throws with 1:35 for an 82-81 Italy lead, France got the ball to Diaw and he backed up Stefano Mancinelli before being fouled.

Diaw made two free-throws and after Andre Bargnani went close but missed from long range from the top of the key, France again fed Diaw and he easily maneuvered his body around Mancinelli before laying the ball off the glass and in to make it 85-82 with 36 seconds to play.

After an Italy timeout, Gallinari received a pass beyond the arc and rushed up his three-point attempt.

The ball hit the rim but bounced out and France, who out-rebounded Italy 38-19, grabbed the board and celebrated the victory.

France finished four of 10 from long range, with Gelabale a perfect two of two and Diaw making one of his two attempts.

Italy got 22 points from Bargnani, but the Toronto Raptors big man didn't score in the fourth quarter.

Marco Belinelli, who was four of eight from behind the arc, had 15 of his 19 points in the first half and Gallinari ended up with 18.