Aussies whip Germans in Group at FIBA worlds
A fiery start and a third-quarter explosion was all Australia needed to demolish Germany, 78-43, in their Group A showdown in Kayseri, Turkey, at the FIBA World Championships. The Germans came out flat and were seemingly exhausted following their double overtime victory over Serbia last night.
Coming off a sorry loss to Argentina, the Australians played like a well-oiled machine as they raced to a 12-2 lead. The Boomers executed their offensive plays smoothly and defended well, holding the Germans to only seven points in the first stanza. David Barlow led the Australians' early attack with five points.
The Germans' misery continued in the second quarter, missing easy shots and giving up points off turnovers. The Australians capitalised on the Germans' lacklustre performance, outscoring them, 19-13, to build a commanding 38-20 half-time lead. Patrick Mills scored 10 points in the second quarter to lead Australia's surge.
The Australians continued their dominance of the Germans in the third quarter. A 12-1 run in the final three minutes allowed head coach Brett Brown's wards to extend their lead to 62-31 after three quarters. The Australians scored 24 points while holding the Germans to only 11. With the game already in the bag, the Oceania champions slowed down in the final period but still managed to score 16 points.
Mills, who plays for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association, led the Australians with 16 points and made seven assists. Aleksandar Maric added 15 points and hauled down five rebounds. Joe Ingles added 10 points while David Andersen had eight points and eight rebounds. Robin Benzing topscored for the Germans with 11 points. Big man Tim Ohlbrecht was the only other German player to score in double digits, contributing 10 points.
Australia and Germany will have a rest day tomorrow. The Australians, who improved to 2-1, will resume their campaign against Serbia on Wednesday. The Boomers slipped past Jordan, 76-75, on opening day before losing to Argentina, 72-74, on Sunday. The bad news for the Australians is that they will face a full-strength Serbian squad with the return of centre Nenad Krstic, who was suspended for three games for his involvement in a brawl during a pre-tournament game against Greece. Guard Milos Teodosic, who was suspended along with Krstic, has already served his two-game suspension and will also see action against the Aussies.
Germany suffered their second defeat of the tournament after their 74-78 loss to Argentina on opening day. The Germans edged Serbia, 82-81, in double overtime on Sunday. Germany's next assignment is against Angola.
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