Australia always had the belief, and have now convinced the mighty United States they can win a historic Olympic men’s basketball medal in Rio.
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Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points to surpass LeBron James as the all-time Olympic scorer to lead Team USA.
Carmelo rescues Team USA from disaster in vintage show: For two games at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the tests thrown at Team USA men’s basketball team was as tough as a third-grade arithmetic quiz for Einstein.
Kyrie Irving, who Australians like to claim as their own as he was born in Melbourne, was the second-best player for the USA with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including a dagger from three down the stretch, similar to Game 7 against the Golden State Warriors.
Australia, whose core group has been together for almost a decade, gave the USA a battle deep into the fourth quarter on Wednesday, before the Americans were able to pull away for a 98-88 victory.
At halftime, Australia actually led by five points, but the U.S. eventually caught up and ended the epic game 98-88.
Patty Mills led Australia with 30 points while Andrew Bogut added 15 and Matthew Dellavedova had 11 points and 11 assists. But he’s been a major part of the US program’s resurgence. U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski was emotional, confronting Greek referee Christos Christodoulou over a foul call at one stage in the crucial third quarter.
The Americans hit seven first-quarter threes five from Anthony but Australia steadied in defence and began to hit the mark offensively. “We knew we could play with anyone coming in”. The Australian team came in the game as the 29-point underdogs but had put up a great fight.
Anthony’s 31-point eruption against Australia was both fitting and necessary. I know we’re expected to win every game, we are expected to be flawless.
Superstar Kevin Durant believes United States of America will meet the Australian team later in the knockout phase of the Rio 2016 competition.
Since Jerry Colangelo overhauled the national program in 2006, Team USA had gone a remarkable 82-1.
Australia led by as many as seven points midway through the second quarter and held a two point lead early in the fourth but repeatedly let the U.S. off the hook with turnovers, often as a result of sloppy handling. They have never lost a game in the Olympics since 1992.
Krzyzewski pointed out that the core of Australia’s team has been together for several years and most of his players have had limited exposure to the global game.
With two group games still to go ahead of the knockout rounds, Melo has a chance to extend his lead at the top and really leave himself above the rest.
The Australians wrap up their competition with matches against China and Venezuela, who now sit in fifth and sixth in the six-team group. I think one of their best games of the tournament.
“When we were able to get out and run with the lead, that’s when we got that excited look”, Dellavedova said. However, on Wednesday they only just saw off a stiff Australian challenge – eventually rallying to win 98-88.
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The Australians were at risk of being knocked out in the group stage after a poor opening day but a crucial 12-5 upset of South Africa helped them through to the quarter-finals on points differential.
