GALLINARI SHINES

Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari scores 15 points, but Italy is eliminated by Spain

Spain' s defense clamped down to keep Italy to only seven points in the final 4 ½ minutes of a 67-60 win at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in the second group stage.

With the loss, Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari and Italy were eliminated. Spain and Serbia advanced from their four-team group, as Serbia demolished Puerto Rico 90-47 Friday. Italy will play Puerto Rico in a consolation game on Sunday (3:30 a.m. ESPN+). Here are three takeaways from Italy's loss:

Gallinari was Italy's best player

Gallinari scored a teamhigh 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting and should have received more shots. Some of that is a credit to Spain's defense (see below), and some Italy going away from him in key moments. Italy' s best offense in FIBA was typically when Gallinari touched the ball, whether as an off-dribble creator or stand-still shooter.

Gall in ari looked to have a key moment when he dribbled around a screen and nailed a pullup 3-pointer to put the Italians up 56-52 with 4:21 left in the fourth. Then, Spain clamped down and Italy's offense went dry.

Whether or not Gallinari is with the Thunder long this season, fans of the team should be encouraged by his performance in FIBA. Due to numerous injuries in his career, Gallinari never played in a FIBA World Cup until this summer, and he showed toughness coming back from an appendectomy in early August to become Italy's standout player.

The 30-year-old finished as the team leader in minutes played (110), points per game (16.3), rebounds per game (5.5) and shot 9- of- 17 from 3 and 60 percent from the field in four games. Gallinari was also one of Italy's best individual defenders, holding his own in isolation situations.

If he carries over his play and health, he'll be an asset for the Thunder either as a player or a trade piece entering the final year of his contract.

Spain showed championship `D'

Gallinari's jumper in the fourth was Italy' s biggest lead in the closing stages, as Spain outscored 15-4 from that point.

From t here, Spain's defense tightened, particularly on Marco Belinelli. The streaky Spurs guard struggled, shooting 3-of16. Gallinari's only two shots of the final four minutes was a desperation he ave against the shot clock after losing control of his dribble out of bounds, then a layup when Spain had taken control of the game.

Spain, ranked second in the world only to the United States, showed the depth and experience of its squad. Raptors center a nd f or mer Defensi ve Player of the Year Marc Gasol only scored t wo points, but was a plus-5 in 27 minutes as an interior presence.

Italy can't cut it inside

Considering Italy' s lack of interior presence, it was a bad time for the shooting to go cold.

Italy shot 4-of-20 from 3, with Gallinari making two. Italy showed size, rebounding and interior scoring was its weakness against Serbia, and Spain used the same formula, beating the Italians 43-36 in rebounds and 32-22 in points in the paint.

It wasn't just the bigs doing damage. Spain's point guard tandem of Ricky Rubio and Sergio Ilull outdueled Belinelli and Daniel Hackett, keeping Italy's defense off balance with hesitation drives and de ft ballhandling in pick-androll to get to the rim.