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The Australian Boomers have gone down to Team USA by 10 points on Day 5 of competition, with a performance that proves they are well in the hunt for a medal in Rio.
It was an incredibly hot start for both sides, with the skills of some of the NBA’s finest shooters on display.
Some strong hustle on defence, combined with some sharp passing in offence saw the Boomers reach the halftime break with a six-point lead.
The Australian’s offence would start to cool off in the second half, as Team USA edged ahead by three points at the final break.
Carmello Anthony was the standout for USA, shooting nine three-pointers, including a couple down the stretch that relieved pressure for the Americans when Australia was looking to make a late charge.
Australia continued to show grit and determination down the stretch, but could not find the clean looks they required in offence, eventually going down by ten points.
The Boomers next face China on Saturday morning from 2:45am (AEST).
Final score:
USA 98
Australia 88
The Australian Boomers are in good form, but get a whole new test when they take on the USA at the Rio Olympics. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 8am (AEST).
The Boomers, for the first time in history, sit two wins and no losses at an Olympic Games campaign – and it’s no fluke either.
This Boomers team are on fire. They dismantled France in the first game by 21, before taking on Serbia and rolling over the top of them too.
It wasn’t all one-way traffic against Serbia as they went into the final quarter behind, but a superstar performance from Matthew Dellavedova, who ended up with 23 points and 12 assists saw the Boomers take out a 15-point win.
Their defence has been particularly good for the most part, and it was particularly evident against France just how big of an asset Andrew Bogut is to the team. His and Aron Baynes’ combination with guards Dellavedova and Patty Mills are quite literally the difference between Australia being good and great.
The Americans as expected have had a great start to their Olympic Campaign, although they haven’t come up against the top teams in their group yet, playing the two teams likely to miss the quarter-finals China and Venezuela.
In that respect, this game will be a different sort of challenge for them given they have defeated China by 57 points and Venezuela by 44. Even if they win, you wouldn’t expect it to be anywhere near that margin.
The USA have so far been able to rest all their players, not playing big minutes and share the workload around. That could become a problem for the Boomers who have a couple of players like Chris Goulding who have barely made it onto the court.
In a game when depth is going to be tested one would assume as they go through tough periods, a player like Goulding could turn the game on its head.
The USA have also shared their offensive output around, which means everyone is going to have worked themselves into some sort of form.
Both teams have been shooting the ball incredibly well so far throughout the tournament, and so the match could turn into a shoot-out if that were to continue – there are sharp-shooters on each team with names like Mills and Durant, so it won’t be low scoring.
Where it’s going to be won is the defensive end though. Not giving silly fouls away, and making every miss count for something will be important.
It’s hardly unexpected but the USA have never been beaten by Australia in their previous seven meetings stretching back to 1964.
Prediction
It’s impossible to tip against the USA, but this could be the closest they come to losing. The Boomers are firing along, and it looks like their best chance in history to beat the giants of Basketball.
USA by 3.
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Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde