A touch of mega-million dollar class and a series of fouls in the final minutes steered the USA home 98-88.
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However, Team USA still got the win, and if the two teams meet again in the medal round, they will not be caught off guard again.
Australia got physical with Team USA Wednesday.
Butler went scoreless in 6:15 of game time against the Aussies.
In the first-half, the Aussies led by as many as eight points before going down as Team USA finished strongly.
Anthony has scored 293 points in four Olympics to pass LeBronJames (270), who’s not in Rio. This U.S. team had its first practice together less than a month ago.
But Mills will trade any individual statistics for the chance to chase a medal. We have the biggest spotlight, the biggest bullseye on our back. The reliance on skill and skill alone seems to put them in hard situations when they’re surprised by teams, like Australia did to them. “We knew we could play with anyone coming in”.
Despite leaving superstars including LeBron James and Steph Curry at home, nobody was given a hope of matching it with them in Rio but an Australian side packed full of National Basketball Association talents held no fear, and it showed.
Having steamrolled their two previous opponents, the US hasn’t had to really lock in yet and the furious pressure the Boomers played at caught them off guard a little.
Added Coach Mike Krzyzewski, “That’s the first real worldwide game we had”. “It was an adjustment for us”.
“Guys [used to be] kind of afraid to say ‘gold medal, ‘ and [preferred] saying, ‘Let’s get a medal'”. He’s the leader on this team and we have a leader like that that’s going to leave it all on the floor, no matter what possession is going on throughout the game. With this performance, he passed the records of both David Robinson and LeBron James to become Team USA’s leading scorer. Ingles said they’re different because they’ve known each other for so long.
Team USA’s Carmelo Anthony in Rio ready to face Australia.
“This is the real world now and that’s good for us”, coach Mike Krzyzewski said. They play as one. “From playing with Australia the past few years, knowing the type of team they are and knowing the type of players they have, we knew it would come down to the end, where we would have to bunker down and make plays down the stretch”. “Australia has probably played the best of anybody in the Olympics”.
Mills was enormous and regretted the fact that the Boomers “had every opportunity to push that game. we still lost the game, it doesnt mean anything”.
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But the reality is that Bogut mostly frustrated the Americans with brutal screens which could have been managed a little better if USA’s bigs had called out the screens.
