Australia Wins Opening Game For First Time Since 1996
Australia and France got Olympic group play off to a thrilling start as the Boomers cruised to an 87-66 wire-to-wire win, it’s the team’s first victory in an opening game of the Olympics since 1996. San Antonio Spurs super sub Patty Mills led the way for Australia finishing with a game-high 21 points including a 4-for-9 shooting performance from behind the arc.
2016 NBA Finals foes, Matthew Dellavedova and Andrew Bogut, are pillars of the Australian team and present quite the offensive predicament. Delly finished with 10 assists while Bogut dropped 18 points on a ridiculously effective 9-for-10 shooting from the field. Delly’s hustle on the perimeter mixed with Bogut’s stellar post-play gave France fits all game long. The Pistons’ Aaron Baynes added 14 points and six boards of his own.
Tony Parker was the lone bright spot for France as he tallied 18 points in the loss.
United States Continues Strong Play With 57-Point Win Over China
The United States had already beat China by 50 and 51 points in two exhibitions respectively, and the match in group play had a similar result with a 119-62 victory. Kevin Durant led the way for the U.S. with 25 points on 5-8 from three-point range (including three in a row during the second quarter) and six assists as well. The U.S. had an impressive 31 assists on their 38 baskets in the game, illustrating how team chemistry is progressing.
The U.S. started the game missing their first 4 shots and the game was tied at 4-4 but then separate 8-0 and 9-0 runs helped the U.S. to push their lead to 30-10 after the first quarter. The U.S. team never looked back, extending their lead to 59-30 at halftime and 91-47 at the end of the third quarter. Overall the U.S. got a balanced effort with 54 bench points and forced China into 24 turnovers which led to 31 fastbreak points. DeMarcus Cousins had 17 points, Paul George had 15 and Kyrie Irving had 12 (on four three-pointers in the 3rd quarter) as well as 5 assists.
Yi Jianlian was the leading scorer for China with 25 points in the loss.
