The defeat comes two days after Team USA's first-ever loss to an African nation, when the Americans fell 90-87 to Nigeria; the Americans are losers of consecutive games for the first time since professionals began representing the country in 1992
Tuesday 13 July 2021 06:57, UK
Team USA started their Olympic exhibition run with a second consecutive stunning loss on Monday, falling to Australia 91-83 in Las Vegas.
The defeat comes two days after Team USA's first-ever loss to an African nation, when the Americans fell 90-87 to Nigeria.
Patty Mills of the San Antonio Spurs led the Boomers with 22 points on 9-for-21 shooting, with Joe Ingles (Utah Jazz) adding 17 points and three three-pointers.
Australia also received 12 points and three steals from Matisse Thybulle of the Philadelphia 76ers and 11 points from Aussie league veteran Chris Goulding.
Damian Lillard scored 22 points for Team USA, going 6-for-11 from three-point range. Kevin Durant contributed 17 points in 28 minutes and Bradley Beal scored 12 on just six shots in 32 minutes. Jayson Tatum recorded just eight points on 4-for-12 shooting, misfiring on all six of his three-point tries.
Defense was the biggest issue for the US, who shot 46.2 per cent from the floor compared to 52.9 per cent (36-for-68) for Australia. Team USA were also outrebounded 32-25.
The US squad went with a couple new starters against Australia, with Draymond Green and Jerami Grant joining All-Stars Durant, Lillard and Beal in the opening line-up.
Team USA came out firing and held a 27-24 lead after one quarter, and built the advantage to nine points at 46-37 by half-time. But Australia outscored the Americans 32-18 in the third quarter, and although Team USA fought back to take a fourth-quarter lead, Mills scored 10 of his points in the final period to spur the upset.
The Americans are losers of consecutive games for the first time since professionals began representing the country in 1992.
