Mike Krzyzewski had a hunch that going against Australia in the third game of the Olympic tournament would be a lot different than the first two games Team USA played, blowout routs of China and Venezuela.
Advertisement
Recent 2016 Rio Olympics results revealed an exciting game from Team USA and the Australian Boomers. As one of two players on the roster who is not making a first time appearance in the pinnacle of global competition, the team designated Carmelo Anthony as the number one option in a team comprised entirely of elite-level National Basketball Association players.
Asked if the game was a U.S. wake-up call, United States guard Paul George said: “It definitely got real”.
“You go to basketball camps together, and then we all make it to the NBA together and we compete against each other on the highest level and I think that makes us closer”, said Durant.
The Aussies led by two points early in the final quarter and the U.S. had to pull out all stops to get the job done, led by veteran Carmelo Anthony who had 31 points including nine 3-point shots.
Australian-born Kyrie Irving, star point guard for 2016 NBA Champions, the Cleveland Cavaliers, added 19 points and 5 assists.
“I think that every time we come out for the United States of America we have one of these games which is good for us”.
Carmelo Anthony leads Team USA with 31 points past a tough Australian team.
It’s officially time for some soul searching on the Team USA front, and there’s no better spokesman for that cause than George.
Australia opened with impressive victories over France and Serbia, both ranked among the top six in the world.
Patty Mills led Australia with 30 points on 11-of-22 shooting, while Andrew Bogut had another good effort with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
Finishing the opening ten minutes with 14 points, he took his total tally to 276 points before ending the game on 293 as he led all scorers with 31 points in Rio.
Added Coach Mike Krzyzewski, “That’s the first real worldwide game we had”. The US team have been the table toppers ever since they started taking part in the Olympics, except in three occasions.
Katie Ledecky won her third gold medal in Rio, this time by helping rally the Americans to victory in the 4×200 relay. Afterward, nearly everyone connected to the USA program tried to take a positive out of it, saying a close game will prove good for the team as it chases the gold.
The result left the Boomers with an empty feeling on the eve of Mills’ 27th birthday, but it sent a warning to their rivals that they’re serious contenders for a first Olympic medal.
Today, Team USA plays Serbia. His team doesn’t win, but that’s more the fault of the roster around him.
Advertisement
“We knew going into [the game against the US] that we had to be physical with them defensively and get them out of their comfort zone”, Mills said.
