“We’re going to go out there and give it our all and try to shake the world and show them what we can do”.
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“It was an adjustment for us”.
“I don’t think we played our best game, but we pulled it out”, Anthony told reporters, deflecting any credit for the win.
“We knew that coming in – this team has a knack for being a little dirty”.
George, who along with the rest of the American team has been staying on a luxury cruise ship, claimed his side were treated unfairly.
“We were doing the same stuff they were doing and we got hacked for it.
My teammates was making sure I was aware of the situation, but tonight was one of those nights where I wanted to let the game come to me and take the shots that was given to me, take the open shots and kind of play basketball”, said the Knicks star.
However Boomers assistant coach Luc Longley wasn’t having any of it, saying: ‘Tell ’em that’s global basketball’. Both players were often matched up against each other throughout the night. “His commitment to USA Basketball and worldwide basketball, he’s one of the best players in the world, but over this last decade he has proved to be one of the best global players”.
“We had every opportunity to win the game”. There is no small victories. “We lost”, he said.
So what did we learn from this game?
“We’re a bit disappointed”. It’s an early round, we have work to do. “We played the greatest team in the world”. It was a decent performance but we can clean things up’. They quickly blew away Venezuela after it was 18-all, but the only second-quarter surge in this one was made by Australians.
In a herculean effort the Boomers lead 54-49 at half-time.
“Thanks to Golden State Warriors” Draymond Green’s three-point play at the end of the third quarter which made US move out to a narrow 70-67 lead.
An enraged Krzyzewski screamed at an official after Andrew Bogut’s hard foul on Irving just in front of the US bench in the third quarter, his face looking as red as the shirts the coaching staff wore. Even so, the Australian team continued to hold their own and kept the game within three throughout first few minutes of the fourth quarter. By the end of the first quarter the teams were level at 29-29. Kyrie Irving would finish Australia off with the final dagger, as he and Anthony would combine for 26 points in the quarter. She scored nine points, including two 3-pointers, during a 15-4 run to close the opening period.
Irving – born in Australia – added 19 points, including a 3-pointer with 1:35 left after Australia had closed within four.
Despite going into the match as major underdogs the Boomers still fancied their chances of pulling off a shock victory and they looked on course to do it.
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“This was a very very good night for us”, USA coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
