Greece loses to Montenegro, 73-69, in final World Cup game

Greece, already eliminated from the FIBA World Cup quarterfinals, ended its campaign Sunday with a 73-69 loss to Montenegro.

With the loss, Greece (2-3) finished last in Group J, the Round of 16 group. Lithuania and the USA, who were to play later Sunday, have already made the quarterfinals.

This was a game of spurts, with Montenegro rushing ahead and Greece trying to close the gap. The Montenegrins led by as many as 14 points (58-44 and 60-46) early in the fourth quarter, with Greece trying to stage a late comeback and falling short.

Motenegro, which beat Greece for the first time in six tries, dominated the paint, scoring 40 of its points there.

Ioannis Papapetrou led Greece with 16 points, followed by Lefteris Bochoridis and Kostas Papanikolaou, with 13. Nikola Vucevic scored 19 for the Montenegrins, including six straight to put the game away when...