Pullen Saves Georgia At The Death

Jacob Pullen went 0-for-8 from two-point range but, crucially, made three shots from outside the three-point arc, including the buzzer-beatter that decided the game

Georgia needed a last-ditch three-pointer from Jacob Pullen to stay unbeaten as they held off a frantic Latvia rally to win 79-76.

Latvia rallied from 12 points down in the final three minutes to level the scores at 76-76 with 56 seconds left.

Two Georgian turnovers gave them a chance to snatch the win, but Janis Strelnieks missed a three-pointer, and then Mareks Mejeris came up empty with a pair of free throws eight ticks from the buzzer.

That gave Pullen the time he needed to hit Latvia with a late dagger as Georgia escaped to improve to 4-0.

A big third quarter looked to have put Georgia in a comfortable position as they led 69-55 on Zaza Pachulia's lay-up early in the fourth.

Latvia got three-pointers from Dairis Bertans and Kaspars Berzins to cut the gap to eight but Georgia were up by 12, 76-64, when George Tsintsadze made a jump shot with 2:53 left.

They should have cruised to the finish from there, but Latvia had other ideas.

Berzin's dunk started the run, with Strelnieks adding a quick three and then getting the tip-in from Bertan's missed lay-up.

When Strelnieks completed a three-point play with 56 seconds left the run was 12-0 and the scores were tied.

Viktor Sanikdize turned the ball over to give Latvia possession but Edgars Jeromanovs missed his three.

A Pullen turnover forced Sanikidze to foul and Mejeris missed both his free throws, with Pullen grabbing the rebound from the second before nailing the decisive three-pointer.

Manuchar Markoishvili led Georgia with 19 points while Pachulia added 18 and nine rebounds.
Strelnieks had 22 points for Latvia with Berzins collecting 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Georgia, who barely edged Bosnia and Herzegovina 96-95 last time out, move to 3-0 in the group.

Quotes Georgia vs. Latvia

Latvia head coach Ainars Bagatskis
"In my entire career it has never happened that we missed 75 percent of our free throws. We needed just a few more balls to not miss the basket. The crowd was very active, so some players couldn't handle it. The Georgian fans helped them, as well as a bit of luck."

Georgia assistant coach Kote Tugushi
"The Latvians played a beautiful game. We want to thank our fans, they helped us so much. We made mistakes but we will try to fix them for the next game. Our goal is to win and today we've managed to do it."

Latvia player Dairis Bertans
"We started the game playing really poorly that's why they took an advantage. It's our fault that we lost it. You have all seen what happened."

Georgia player Manuchar Markoishvili
"It was a very tough game from beginning to end. The Latvian players are very energetic. We have to admit that luck was on our side, but we must also say that it was a deserved victory."