Mr Cook's move had little to do with grand strategic thinking: it was a pre-emptive bid to silence Eurosceptics in London, and also part of a broader Franco-British game in which his country will be struggling to preserve its veto in areas that others think should be subject to decisions by a majority of votes.
Luol Deng answered with a basket to make it a five-point game, and Nazr Mohammed came up with two baskets in the final 32 seconds to help preserve the win.