The Boomers’ hopes of progressing to the quarter-finals on the Olympics will hinge on their closing group sport towards Greece after they did not convert a sizzling begin into victory over the star-studded Canadians.
Australia had been the higher workforce for the opening two quarters however Canada, led by their NBA celebrity guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, powered dwelling to win 93-83 and report their second win of the event.
After the Aussies dominated the primary half however Josh Giddey was shut down by Canada’s armada of top-shelf perimeter defenders within the closing two quarters and the workforce panicked into poor passes and rushed pictures.
After beating Spain first up, the Aussies are nonetheless answerable for their very own future however must beat Greece to advance to the ultimate eight.
Australia full their Group A marketing campaign towards Greece on Friday night time (9.30pm AEST) the place they are going to face former NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo however ought to have an general expertise surplus.
They matched Canada in nearly each side of the sport aside from turnovers. The Aussies coughed up possession 18 occasions, seven greater than their opponents, with Canada developing with 28 factors from these blunders with the Boomers making simply 10 in return.
The Boomers shot out to a 19-13 lead with Dante Exum offering some early spark after he sat out the opening win over Spain as a result of compound finger dislocation he suffered of their final pre-Olympic warm-up match towards France.
Canada shortly surged again to regain the lead with Dillon Brooks placing up factors and likewise attempting to get underneath Giddey’s pores and skin with the famous agitator bumping the Australian guard off the ball to attempt to put him off his sport.
It was clear why he was attempting to focus on Giddey as he led all scorers with 10 factors within the first quarter because the Aussies claimed a 28-26 lead by the primary break.
“We want each f—ing unfastened ball,” screamed Patty Mills at his teammates as they walked into the huddle, clearly not completely satisfied that that they had gifted the Canadians just a few simple possessions.
With Giddey draining the primary three of the second quarter, his former Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder celebrity teammate in Gilgeous-Alexander responded by posting him as much as sink a baseline jumper over the long run Chicago Bull.
RJ Barrett rattled dwelling a long-range jumper to provide Canada a 35-33 benefit halfway by the second quarter however a Dyson Daniels steal led to a dunk to Duop Reath, getting again on court docket after a DNP in sport one, and Exum added a lay-up to regain the lead, prompting their opponents to burn a time-out.
Brian Goorjian praised his gamers of their break by telling them he was proud of their tempo, working the ground with athleticism and maintaining the tempo ticking over.
The techniques appeared to unsettle Canada with SGA and Jamal Murray extra at dwelling with a slowed tempo to allow them to arrange within the half court docket.
With Giddey discovering Jack McVeigh for a large open three late within the half to construct on the JackJumpers ahead’s spectacular Olympic debut, Australia took a 49-45 margin into the break.
Giddey and SGA had been going toe to toe – the Aussie ending the half with 15 factors and his erstwhile OKC backcourt comrade main Canada with 10, making it look simple in sinking 5 of six discipline aim makes an attempt regardless of the opposition focusing on him each time he had the ball in hand.
Canada made some defensive changes for the third quarter, swarming Giddey, who produced solely 4 extra factors for the sport and with Barrett and Lu Dort discovering their vary from the arc, Goorjian referred to as a halt to proceedings to stymie their momentum after trailing 58-54.
However it didn’t work. A number of careless turnovers blew the lead out to 10 earlier than Exum triggered a six-point run to chop the deficit to 4.
Olympic Video games Paris 2024. Each Occasion. Advert-free. Dwell & On Demand. 4K. 8 Unique Worldwide channels from Eurosport, Viacom18 and Sky NZ, solely on Stan Sport.
Australia practically misplaced the final two factors of their surge when Jock Landale appeared to tip the ball out of the basket whereas attempting to rebound teammate Nick Kay’s shot.
Canada coach Jordi Fernandez challenged the decision however the refa dominated on evaluate that the ball was within the cylinder when the Houston Rockets centre unintentionally bought in the best way.
As he did within the NBL Grand Finals sequence, McVeigh was fearless and he nailed a few well timed threes late within the third quarter to make sure the Aussies trailed by simply two factors heading into the ultimate time period.
Australia couldn’t get into their offence within the fourth quarter and their frustration grew with Mills unleashing an off the ball arduous display screen on Dort which might have made The Cable Man proud.
The refs didn’t prefer it and when Barrett splashed a 3 on the following possession, Goorjian referred to as time along with his workforce down 9 with 5 minutes remaining.
After stepping on the road to show the ball over, Exum made amends with a 3 and a Landale three-point play gave the Boomers hope of an unlikely late comeback.
However the Canadians stored their settle down the stretch to shut out the win and reinforce their standing as second favourites for the gold behind Workforce USA.
Giddey completed with a team-high 19 together with seven rebounds and 6 assists with Landale (16 factors and 12 rebounds) and Exum (15) offering strong help.
Nevertheless, Giddey had three turnovers with Daniels and Mills 4 apiece and the Boomers’ backcourt merely can’t be that reckless with the ball towards any Olympic opponent, significantly a medal contender like Canada.
Despite the fact that Gilgeous-Alexander solely tallied 16 factors, he was extremely dependable as he picked his spots with the added bonus of Barrett main all scorers with 24 making certain the Boomers got here up empty handed.
