Turkey beat Lithuania 94 to 66 in the World Cup on 28 August 2026. The hosts opened their campaign with a statement, while the visitors struggled to find any rhythm. It was an uneven contest from the start, and Turkey made sure to take full advantage.
They shot 36 field goals from 72 attempts, converting at a rate that Lithuania simply could not match. The visitors managed only 26 successful shots from 62 attempts. And here's the thing — the difference in three-point shooting told the whole story. Turkey hit 11 from 27, while Lithuania managed just 7 from 20.
What stood out was the ball movement. Turkey recorded 21 assists against Lithuania's 19, but the difference came in turnovers. The visitors turned the ball over 17 times compared to Turkey's 8. They played with too much urgency and not enough patience, and by then the gap was too wide to close.
Defensively, Turkey were relentless. They recorded 7 blocks to Lithuania's 3, and their 12 steals were nearly triple the visitors' 4. The rebounding battle was tighter — Turkey took 39 rebounds to Lithuania's 36 — but the offensive boards were level at 11 apiece. Turkey also won the foul count, drawing 21 personal fouls against their own 20.
Lithuania now carry the weight of a heavy defeat. They had lost to Estonia 110-108 in their previous outing and showed no signs of recovery. Their recent results — a loss to Britain, a narrow defeat to Italy — suggested a team searching for stability. Turkey meanwhile came off a win against Czechia and a narrow loss to Croatia, showing they can compete at this level.
The final margin of 28 points says everything. Turkey controlled the tempo, made their shots count, and punished every mistake Lithuania made. The visitors still have work to do before they can call themselves competitive in this tournament.
