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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Nene scored 19 points, Marcelinho Huertas had 11 assists and Brazil kept its chances of advancing to the men's basketball quarterfinals alive with a 86-69 win over Nigeria on Monday.
A loss would have eliminated the Brazilians. They're still not guaranteed a spot in the round of eight as Group B, which includes Argentina, Spain and Lithuania, still needs to be sorted out.
Nene, who signed as an NBA free agent this summer with the Houston Rockets, and Huertas of the Los Angeles Lakers scored six points apiece in a 14-2 run in the fourth to help Brazil (2-3) pull away.
Nigeria (1-4), which stunned Croatia in its previous game, was aiming to become the first African nation to make the quarterfinals. Nigeria showed improvement from the team beaten by the U.S. 156-73 in London, the most lopsided loss in Olympic history.
Josh Akognon led Nigeria with 16 points.
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