Luol Deng Nearly Leads Great Britain to an Upset Over Spain

The Chicago Bulls star scored 26 points in the 79-78 loss

Chicago Bulls star Luol Deng put up a valiant effort for his Great Britain squad that faced off against Spain on Thursday in London at the 2012 Olympic games.

Deng nearly registered a triple-double as he put up 26 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and one steal on 10-20 shooting from the field and either scored or assisted on all of Great Britain's baskets in the last five minutes of regulation.

Great Britain went into the fourth quarter against Spain down 12 points but Deng stepped up his play and nearly willed his team to victory.

Luol sparked a 9-2 run that brought Great Britain within three points, 68-65 with 3:19 left in regulation. But a late turnover by Deng and subsequent foul sent Spain to the free-throw line and gave themselves a four-point lead with 17 seconds left in regulation, 79-75.

But 10 seconds later Deng nailed a three-pointer with 7.1 seconds remaining and on the ensuing Spain inbounds, Great Britain couldn’t commit the foul on Toronto Raptors guard Jose Calderon who dribbled out the clock and the Spaniards escaped with a narrow, 79-78 victory, advancing to the medal round.

With the loss, the hosts Great Britain falls to 0-3 in pool play and will not have an opportunity to compete for an Olympic medal with another loss in the tournament as the top four teams in each pool advance to the medal round.

Contact Us