“We wanted to show our best self in the game, but we had to admit the gap between the two sides”, said Gong Luming, China’s head coach.
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Tina Charles, who finished with 15 points, got going in the second quarter to help the US extend the advantage to 22 at the half.
US coach Mike Krzyzewski hailed Anthony, who made nine three-pointers against Australia, for his contribution.
On the Australian side, Patty Mills was the leading scorer with 30 points on 11 of 22 shooting.
While USA prevailed late, George, who had a quiet night with just five points against the Australians, said he wasn’t surprised about the physicality of the Boomers. Carmello Anthony was the only player to score more points than Mills.
China was placed in Group A, the “Death Group”, with USA, Serbia, France, Venezuela and Australia.
But Anthony, the first male to play in four Olympics, steadied the Americans in the first competitive game most of this new team had ever experienced.
Patty Mills and Andrew Bogut, two of Australia’s National Basketball Association players, combined for 45 points, while David Andersen, who played briefly for the Rockets, Raptors and Hornets, chipped in with 13 off the bench. In Sunday’s qualifications, Team USA sailed through to qualify in the top spot-in every single event.
The Americans (2-0) had a team-record 36 assists in the opening victory.
However, Anthony set the tone as the United States roared back to extend their winning Olympic run to 20 games stretching back to a semi-final defeat to Argentina in Athens 12 years ago.
Barring injury, Anthony will certainly pass LeBron during these Olympics, probably doing it in the team’s next game against Australia tomorrow.
Australia lost bronze-medal matches at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games.
Australia will be the opponent, and like the Americans they’ve been quite impressive in two comfortable wins to open their Olympic competition. “The second is that they’re not invincible because we had a close game”.
Other big wins for Team USA were men’s basketball, women’s indoor volleyball and beach volleyball.
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The US scored the first nine points of that quarter, with Durant – who was very quiet by his usual standards – finally lifting. Get this, Phelps has only three less medals over his career than the country of Brazil (24) has in theirs. He adds that some of Australia’s players have indeed played in the National Basketball Association, with some of them playing in the same team with the players in team USA.
