Vucevic's 23 points help Montenegro beat Sweden at EuroBasket

Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic scored 23 points to lead Montenegro to a much-needed 87-81 victory over Sweden at the EuroBasket tournament. Also on Monday, Turkey and Germany extended their record to four group phase wins.

Vucevic also grabbed 15 rebounds and delivered four assists in Tampere, Finland, as Montenegro overcame a blip in the third quarter to post its first win at the continental tournament, keeping its hopes of reaching the round of 16 alive.

Pelle Larsson led the Swedes with 28 points.

Montenegro had a 40-34 half-time lead but Sweden was the better team returning from the locker room and out-scored their rivals in the third quarter 31-24 to take the lead. A strong effort by Kyle Allman, who scored 10 points in less than two minutes to give his team a 80-77 lead with 1:50 left, helped Montenegro recover and win the contest in Group B.

The group phase of 24 teams is being played in four different countries. The top four teams from each group will advance to the knockout phase in Riga, Latvia, from Sept. 6-14.

Montenegro can qualify with another victory against winless Britain, arguably the weakest team in the group.

Turkey, Germany extend perfect start

Germany stayed unbeaten in Group B with a 120-57 victory over Britain, which resisted in the early stages of the contest before collapsing. Franz Wagner had a double-double of 18 points and 10 assists in just 18 minutes of play and Tristan Da Silva scored 25 points for the Germans.

Already qualified from Group A, Turkey made light work of Estonia in a 84-64 victory in Riga. Turkey dominated from the start and built a 12-point lead after 10 minutes.

Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun was again decisive for Turkey with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

It was the first time since 2009 that Turkey managed to secure four wins in a single EuroBasket tournament. Estonia dropped to 1-3 ahead of its final group game against Portugal on Wednesday. Turkey will face Serbia in a game that determines the group winner.

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