( CNN ) -- The United States will face Turkey in the finals of the world basketball championships after defeating Lithuania 89-74 Saturday . NBA star Durant set the tone for his team 's semi-final win by pounding Lithuania with a 17-point scoring blitz in the first eight minutes . By the final buzzer he had also added nine rebounds to his 38 points . After defeating world number one Argentina on Thursday , the Lithuanians looked as if they had already played their final , offering little resistance for an on-song American team . Having grown accustomed to coming back from slow starts throughout this tournament Lithuania would not have been too concerned about falling behind early , trailing USA 23-12 at the end of the opening quarter . Any hopes that Lithuania had off staging another of their famous comebacks dimmed with the USA still well in control , 42-27 when the half-time buzzer sounded . The US 's intensity did not let up following the break , assuring the Lithuanians would not come within nine points of them throughout the quarter to still be leading comfortably 65-53 with a quarter remaining . In the other semifinal on Saturday hosts Turkey edged Serbia 83-82 in a thrilling match .
The United States beat Serbia 89-74 . CNN star Lithuania 89-74 scored 17-points in the first eight minutes . Hosts Serbia edged Serbia 83 -82 in a thrilling match .