Germany Down Italy In Crunch Clash

Turning Point: After Andrea Bargnani's potential go-ahead three-ball hit off the rim in the fourth quarter, a closely-guarded Dirk Nowitzki buried a 15-foot jump shot over Stefano Mancinelli for a 58-55 lead. Mancinelli then missed from the top of the key and Robin Benzing scored for Germany to make it 60-55 with 3:58 to play.

Game Hero: Dirk Nowitzki showed yet again he's the man for the big occasion, scoring 21 points and corralling 12 rebounds.

Stats Don't Lie: Germany hit seven of 12 (58%) shots from the arc while Italy were six of 25 (24%).

Germany beat Italy four years ago to send the Azzurri into an international basketball tailspin and on Thursday night, they piled on the agony once more.

Getting superlative efforts again from Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman and receiving timely shooting from Robin Benzing and Azzurri killer Johannes Herber, Germany won 76-62.

Dirk Bauermann's team improved to 2-0 in Group B and dropped the Italians to 0-2, leaving them with a mountain to climb to advance to the next stage of the competition.

Only the top three sides progress and so far, Serbia, France and now Germany have two wins in as many games while Italy, Latvia and Israel have two defeats.

"We played at the same level as Germany for 38 minutes," Italy coach Simone Pianigiani said.

"But at this moment, we're not as consistent as Germany.

"That is the real situation because Germany showed yesterday (against Israel) also a great game that Italy right now is not able to play in the same way."

Germany took the lead for good with 5:53 to go when they swung the ball onto the left wing to a wide-open Robin Benzing, who drilled a three-ball for a 56-53 advantage.

Marco Belinelli drove in from the left and dunked but Nowitzki stretched the lead back to three with a jump shot for Germany.

Benzing then scored on a drive down the left baseline to extend the advantage to 60-55 and force an Italy timeout.

When play resumed, Danilo Gallinari popped a three-pointer from the top of the key for Italy to cut the gap to 60-58, and Italy then had a chance to take the lead on their next trip down the floor but Daniel Hackett's jumper from the right corner was off target.

Kaman, who had struggled offensively all night but came to life in the final period, scored for a 62-58 lead.

After two Gallinari free-throws again made it a two-point game, Kaman scored in the low post.

Herber then struck with a three-point dagger and Germany pulled away.

Herber had played a leading role in 2007 in Spain when Germany beat Italy with a spot in the Quarter-Finals at stake.

Germany went on to finish high enough at that EuroBasket to reach the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament and they made it to the Beijing Games.

Italy, meanwhile, had to go through qualifying for EuroBasket 2009 after the setback in Marid and failed to make it to Poland.

Kaman finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds, scoring 10 and pulling down eight boards in the fourth quarter.

Nowitzki had 21 points and 12 rebounds while Benzing contributed 14 and Herber six.

Benzing and Herber each had two three-pointers and Germany were seven of 17 from long range as a team to Italy's six of 25.

Gallinari led Italy with 17 points.

Quotes Italy vs. Germany

Germany Head Coach Dirk Bauermann:
It was a very good game - I want to give credit to Italy: they were very disruptive and made it very difficult for us to do what we do. We made some big shots in the end of the game, sometimes it is just what you need to win the game.

Germany Guard Heiko Schaffartzik:
I think it was a big fight and both teams gave everything they had. I think Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Caman made the difference. It was also strong team defensive effort too, and then we had guys to step up with some big baskets in the end of the game.

Italy Head Coach Simone Pianigiani:
For 38 minutes we played on the same level, but right now we are just not consistent enough. The final score shows mentality of Germany: when you are in the tournament, you need points and difference. At this point Germany is just more consistent than we are.

Italy Forward Danilo Gallinari:
It was a really tough game and I think that we played really good until the last minute. We had a chance to tie the game, but then we did not play smartly: we made a couple of fouls - they shot some free throws and added a three point shot.