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Tokyo Olympics: Patty Mills, Boomers blow double-digit lead to go down to USA in horror second half

Headshot of Mitchell Woodcock
Mitchell WoodcockThe West Australian
Jock Landale of Australia reacts following his team’s loss to the USA.
Camera IconJock Landale of Australia reacts following his team’s loss to the USA. Credit: JOE GIDDENS/AAPIMAGE

Australia capitulated under the weight of a Kevin Durant-led USA, conceding a double-digit lead midway through the second term to lose 97-78.

Durant finished with a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds, combining with Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker (20 points) and Jrue Holliday (11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists) to complete a remarkable 34 point turnaround in just over two quarters.

After a number of team performances leading into the semi-final, the Boomers left too much to too few, with captain Patty Mills (15 points and eight assists), fellow NBA star Dante Exum (14 points) and NBL grand final MVP Jock Landale (11 points and six rebounds) the only Australians to finish the contest in double digits.

Boomers captain Patty Mills=drives past Devin Booker.
Camera IconBoomers captain Patty Mills=drives past Devin Booker. Credit: JOE GIDDENS/AAPIMAGE

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In a damning statistic for the Australians they lost the rebound count a whopping by 15, while the team shot at just 41 per cent from the field to now leave them to play off for a bronze against the loser of tonight’s other semi-final between Slovenia and France.

The Boomers came out of the blocks hard and were playing too fast for a rattled USA.

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Such was Australia’s dominance was they blew the lead out to 15 points with just over five minutes to go in the first half.

But the USA were never going to go away easily and went on a 16 to four run to end the first half and cut the Boomers’ advantage to just 45-42 at the main break.

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Australia’s big scorers though were not making the plays, with Exum leading the Boomers with 10 points in the first half, while Durant was dominant with 15 points and five defensive rebounds for the United States.

The United States continued their momentum out of the break and took the lead for the first time since the opening seconds within the first few minutes of the third term.

Boomers coach Brian Goorjian turned to his starting five for the first half of the third term to try to stem the momentum, but it was in vein as Durant led a determined USA a nine-point lead before Australia called a time-out.

By the final break the United States had blown the lead out to a whopping 19 points and looked well on their way to a comprehensive victory.

It was all one-way traffic in the final term, as the United States’ ball movement was on point, while their aggression on the offensive boards gave them multiple shots from easy opportunities as they blew the Boomers out of gold medal contention.

Joe Ingles finished with an uncharacteristic nine points and took just four shots from beyond the arc, while Matthew Dellavedova did not trouble the scorers and Nic Kay had just seven points and four rebounds.

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