US star slams 'dirty' Boomers after win in Rio

Australia has been accused of being a dirty team after the Boomers rattled the super confident Team USA in a thriller.

The Boomers caused a major scare, but eventually fell 98-88 to the mighty United States in their blockbuster Olympics clash.

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After the game, Dream Team star Paul George said the Australians had a reputation for being dirty.

"We knew we was going to get their best," he said.

"It was an adjustment for us. This game kind of got out of hand with the chippy, physical play.

"We knew that going in the team has a knack for being a little dirty."

In a brave performance at Carioca 1 Stadium, the underdog Australians had led at half-time but could not complete the mammoth upset on Thursday morning.

NBA stars Patty Mills (30 points), Andrew Bogut (15 points) and Matthew Dellavedova (11 points) lead the Boomers scoring.

For the Dream Team, Carmelo Anthony cashed in with 31 points while Dellavedova’s Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Kyrie Irving scored 17 and Kevin Durant had 12.
In what had been anticipated as one of the biggest contests in the first week of the Games, the Boomers went into the match with wins over highly rated pair France and Serbia behind them, while the US has pounded China and Venezuela into the parquetry.

The Boomers got a healthy cheer as they ran onto the court but there was an enormous roar when their megastar rivals appeared. And when US veteran Carmelo Anthony nailed the first two three-pointers of the game, the signs were ominous.

But the following minutes were everything the top billing of the contest promised.

A replying three-pointer and dunk to Joe Ingles was followed immediately by another three from Anthony and the customary Andrew Bogut alley-oop dunk off a perfect Matthew Dellavedova pass.

Bogut threw something funky into the equation when he nailed a left-hand sky-hook and it had the big centre feeling good as he followed with a monster blocked shot at the other end on a Kyle Lowry jump-shot.

It all helped the Boomers to a surprise 25-17 lead that suddenly had them as the team that was doing all the dreaming. But the US then switched up the defensive heat and a David Anderson jumper from the top of the key then tied the scores 29-all at the first break after three lead changes.

US veteran Kevin Durant got his first score with a tidy three to start the second term. His team then took the ascendancy again when DeMarcus Cousins thumped down a massive tip-jam after cleaning up a missed Kyrie Irving shot.

Bogut, who has been superb so far in the tournament despite coming into it under a knee injury cloud, responded by dragging the Boomers back into the match with consecutive buckets.

Australian coach Andrej Lemanis showed he was not afraid to expose his bench to the world basketball benchmark, throwing Chris Goulding, Ryan Broekhoff Cameron Bairstow and Brock Motum into the most bubbling of cauldrons.

All the while, Mills continued to grow his international reputation and by midway through the second term he had already notched 11 points.

Boomers captain David Andersen was a critical in testing the swinging US zone defence with 10 first-half points.

Perth Wildcats captain Damian Martin was also afforded a second-term injection into the game and responded with a characteristic quick-hands steal off Durant which sent Mills flying off on a fast break.

A Dellevedova pass to Bogut under the basket as the second quarter wound to a close was then arguably his best of an outstanding bunch so far in the tournament and allowed the Boomers to take a 54-49 lead into the main break.

It was the contest their form promised and backed Australian basketball legend Luc Longley’s pre-match claims that the world was catching up to the US.

The only worry for the first half was the 12-5 turnover count.

But the US fought back quickly after the break, scoring the first nine points to snare back the lead in just minutes. Lemanis then called a timeout to find a way to stem the bleeding.

Bogut continued to be a powerful presence at both ends, highlighted by his bullish protection of the bucket on the defensive end as Lowry tried to find a way up from underneath him.

And after two successful free throws from fellow centre Aron Baynes, the scored were again locked at 67-all.

A tough three-point play by an animated Draymond Green after drawing a foul from Bairstow then gave the US a lead of the same value going into the final quarter.

An Andersen three under pressure from the top of the arc then tied the scores for the fifth time in the game before an Ingles lay-in orchestrated the seventh lead change.

But the US again found more intensity at the defensive end and forced the Boomers into a string of uncharacteristically poor shot choices as the big rivals slugged it out.

It allowed the US to regain momentum midway through the quarter and forge back away to a 78-74 lead with seven minutes to play.