The two teams entered the encounter yet to lose at the Games and finished the first quarter tied before Australia took a five-point lead into half-time.
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They jumped out to an eight-point lead mid-way through the first quarter, and went into the break level at 29-29.
United State of America is well-known as bombers basketball in the world. And meanwhile Aussie Patty Mills led overall scores with 30 points acquisition.
They were forced to prove their mettle early, withstanding a scoring barrage from Carmelo Anthony who dropped 14 first quarter points, including the first nine of the game for the Americans. Andrew Bogut probably is playing in his final Olympic games, but their aggressive style and sometimes overlooked talent makes them serious medal contenders.
“We battled but like I said let’s not sugar coat it we lost the game”. The game kind of got out of hand early with the physical play. The Americans clinched a spot in the medal round with the victory.
As pointed out by The Guardian, Australia played a pretty good game and they would have won it if Anthony was not “hot”.
Team USA, after blowouts of China (119-62) and Venezuela (113-69) in their first two games, had its first tough test in Rio against Australia.
Australians are 0-19 against USA squads but the full-game test posed by the “Boomers” was in many ways their finest hour on the court, although not to Aussie star Andrew Bogut.
For the Dream Team, Carmelo Anthony cashed in with 31 points while Dellavedova’s Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Kyrie Irving scored 19 and Kevin Durant had 13.
Recent 2016 Rio Olympics results revealed an exciting game from Team USA and the Australian Boomers.
Turning Point: The USA returned to the floor for the second half and went on a 9-0 run that put them in front.
“I was in my zone”, said Anthony, who was on the 2004 team that was the last Team USA squad to lose in Olympic play. But the United States then switched up the defensive heat and a David Anderson jumper from the top of the key then tied the scores 29-all at the first break after three lead changes.
Having been drawn in the same group for Rio, the two teams won’t be able to meet again until the gold medal match should they finish in the top two.
“This is the real world now and that’s good for us”, coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
“A few mental lapses in the last quarter but we understand what we need to do to beat a great team like the USA”, Mills said.
Next up for the Americans is Friday’s matchup against Serbia at 5 p.m. EST on NBC.
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But when a nervous US needed someone to take the reins in its first challenge of the Rio Games, Anthony was happy to oblige. In fact, Australia took back the lead.
