Can the United States win the gold medal at this World Championships? Today, Patty Mills and Australia took action to answer this question to fans around the world: "It's really not necessarily!". In the second warm-up match against the Australian national team in Melbourne, Australia overtook a 10-point deficit, led by Patty Mills' 30 points, and finally defeated the United States 98-94 in front of their hometown fans.
This is the first time that the United States has lost in an international competition with NBA players as the main body in the past 13 years. It ended the 2006 Olympic bronze medal match and ended the 2007 US Championships, 2008 Olympics, 10 World Championships, 12 Olympic Games, 14 World Championships and 16 Olympic Games. This period included an unbeaten record of 78 games in warm-up matches.
This game not only proved the tough challenge of the American team in the World Cup, but also proved the growth of the Australian men's basketball team at the world level. "It's really great." After ending Australia's record of 0 wins and 30 losses against the United States, Mills's feelings were that simple.
"We're still a group of players trying to adapt to each other and learn our system, so it wouldn't surprise me too much if we lose games or have poor execution," U.S. coach Gregg Popovich said. "But Australia did give us a lot. A good lesson that lets us know how to face world-class confrontation and what we need to do if we want to go far."
Including a three-pointer that pushed the lead to 4 points, Mills took Australia's final 10 points. For the US team, Kemba Walker still scored a team-high 22 points, and Harrison Barnes scored 20 points. Donovan Mitchell scored a three-pointer with 65 seconds left in the game to chase the score to only 3 points behind, but in the end he and Joe Harris each missed a chance to tie the score. Australian Andrew Bogut (16 points), Joe Ingles (15 points), and Aaron Baynes (13 points) also contributed.
Next, Australia will wait for the start of the World Cup, while the United States will move to Sydney to play Canada for the last warm-up match before the official game.
