London: Team USA run over top of Boomers

The Boomers have lost their Quarter Final clash with Team USA.

BOXSCORE

The Boomers have gone down to Team USA 119-86 in their Quarter Final match-up.

The Boomers were right in the game thanks to an 11-3 run to start the second half provided by Patty Mills and Joe Ingles, which had the Boomers within a basket of the lead.

However as they have all tournament the USA found a way to get their stars involved, with Deron Williams (18 points), Kobe Bryant (20) and Carmelo Anthony (17) leading a third quarter charge that would ultimately prove too strong for the gallant Boomers.

Mills was again the leading scorer for the Boomers, finishing with 26 points and 6 rebounds, while Joe Ingles capped off a breakout tournament with a fine stats sheet of 19 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.

Brad Newley (10 points), David Andersen (11 points 4 rebounds) and youngster Matthew Dellavedova (5 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists) were also strong contributors.

It was a strong start to the contest for the Boomers as Mills once again sparked the offense into action, draining an early three-pointer on his way to 10 first quarter points.

At the defensive end the likes Matt Nielsen and Mark Worthington were doing their part to quell the USA’s many offensive weapons, but this good work went largely unpunished by the Boomers at the free throw line.

Normally a team that struggles to get to the line, the Boomers tested the USA defensive unit, but was unable to fully grasp their chances, shooting a poor 5-of-12 from the charity strike in the opening stanza.

Despite these key misses the Boomers trailed the USA 28-21 heading into the second period. This is where the USA began to exert their dominance on the contest.

After struggling from outside to start the game, Kevin Durant and Deron Williams stepped up draining a pair of three-pointers a piece as USA went on a 10-2 run and threatened to blow the Aussies out of the water.

As they have all tournament the Boomers showed staggering fight and determination with Brad Newley, Dellavedova and Ingles providing much-needed offensive execution to ensure the lead did not get out of reach heading into the main interval.

The Boomers came out all guns blazing in the third quarter scoring 11 of the first 14 points of the half as Mills and Ingles punished sloppy USA defensive pressure.

With the USA lead whittled to one basket, the Gold Medal favourites began to find a way to score and extended the lead back to double figures.

Kobe Bryant put on a show for the fans to start the final period, nailing a trifecta of three-pointers as part of a 13-2 USA run that broke the hearts of the Boomers as the lead quickly grew from 12 to 23 points in the closing stages.

Team USA ran up the score late, with the final margin of 33 flattering the Gold Medal-chasing outfit.