- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Team USA had to fight hard, but managed to record a come from behind victory by ten points over an Australian Boomers outfit that showed plenty and never went away down the stretch.
The USA came firing out of the gates but it didn’t take the Boomers long to find their rhythm and when they did they put the sword to the Americans, taking a lead out of the first half.
In fact, they barely were behind during the first half as the Patty Mills, Matthew Dellavedova and Andrew Bogut combination worked an absolute treat. They linked for points, and combined with the Boomers’ defence locking down the paint they went out to the lead.
» Re-live the game and watch highlights of the Boomers
Their biggest lead reached eight points during the first half, about midway through the second quarter.
What was very impressive from an Australian point of view was that on a number of occasions they were able to counter momentum swings. Their effort on the defensive end and execution on offence plus a careful use of timeouts saw them never give up a monstrous run and let the game get out of hand.
In fact, the ten-point final margin wouldn’t have been as large as it was if not for a lack of composure down the stretch and a couple of fouls the Boombers had to commit to try to stop the clock and give themselves a fighting chance.
Carmelo Anthony was the best on court for the USA, and at times was the sole reason they stayed in the game during the first half. Kevin Durant was ice cold, going to the main break shooting two of ten from the field, but Anthony was hitting threes from all over the court and ended the match with 31, including nine from outside.
It took a better team effort in the second half for the USA to get back into the contest, after going to halftime five down – that gap could have been a lot larger if not for a large number of turnovers Australia gave away.
The third quarter saw a complete momentum swing as the American’s outscored the Boomers by eight to take a three-point lead into the final change.
However, it could have been a lot worse for the Boomers as they locked down the paint and made the Americans do a lot of shooting and work from the outside.
A big factor in this was the foul trouble they found themselves in. They simply couldn’t stay in the game with Andrew Bogut, Aron Baynes, Joe Ingles and even David Andersen sitting on the bench.
Andersen was particularly impressive off the bench throughout the match, scoring 13 points and giving Australia a much-needed spark. Cameron Bairstow was another, although his effort mainly focused around the defensive end.
During the final quarter, the game was very bucket for bucket with the USA holding a slender lead for the most part but with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving heating up it was clear the Aussies were going to have a hard time staying in it.
The gap would then go out with Kyrie Irving knocking down a massive three-pointer with about 90 seconds on the clock and the Boomers couldn’t come back fouling their way through the final minute.
In the end, the Boomers fall to the United States of America, but more positives gained out of the match then negatives. It also should be noted this just about wraps up Pool A barring any upsets with the USA taking first and Australia second.
Final Score
United States of America 98
Australian Boomers 88
Match Statistics
2 point field goals: Australia (58%), USA (35%)
3 point field goals: Australia (33%), USA (44%)
Free Throws: Australia (83%), USA (72%)
Offensive Rebounds: Australia (8), USA (21)
Defensive Rebounds: Australia (32), USA (26)
Assists: Australia (23), USA (17)
Turnovers: Australia (16), USA (9)
Steals: Australia (4), USA (7)
Blocks: Australia (4), USA (4)
Fouls: Australia (25), USA (24)
Fast break points: Australia (15), USA (9)
Points in the paint: Australia (44), USA (22)
Bench points: Australia (21), USA (23)
Stats Leaders
Australia
Points: Patty Mills (30), Andrew Bogut (15), David Andersen (13), Matthew Dellavedova (11)
Rebounds: Matthew Dellavedova (6), Cameron Bairstow (5)
Assists: Matthew Dellavedova (11), Ryan Broekhoff (4)
United States of America
Points: Carmelo Anthony (31), Kyrie Irving (19), Kevin Durant (14)
Rebounds: Carmelo Anthony, De Marcus Cousins (8), Kevin Durant (5)
Assists: Kyrie Irving (5), Kyle Lowry (4)