By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Team USA sank timely buckets to hold off the late surge of the Australian national basketball team, 98-92, during their second tuneup exhibition game in preparation for the Paris Olympics on July 16, 2024, held at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
After leading by as much as 24 points in the third quarter, Team USA suddenly fell into a dangerous position after Australia trimmed their deficit to just a single digit in the final frame.
The Australians banked on their high-octane motion offensive sets that kicked off their impressive 39-21 scoring run.
Down by just eight in the final five minutes of the game, Australia cut their deficit to just six after a perfect fast-break possession, 86-80.
However, in the final three minutes of the game, Indiana Pacers’ superstar point guard Tyrese Haliburton provided the much-needed spark for Team USA after knocking down back-to-back three-pointers that ballooned their cushion back to 12 points, 92-80.
After that crazy sequence for the Americans, the Australians failed to fight back as time wasn’t on their side anymore with a huge amount of points to catch up.
Despite two straight buckets from Australia that pulled them to within just seven points, Devin Booker safely sealed the win for team USA after converting a tough perimeter jump shot with only 34 seconds left.
It was all Team USA in the first three quarters as the duo of LeBron James and Anthony Edwards hosted an early party from downtown that stabilized their playing pace.
Picking up where James and Edwards left off is the quartet of Booker, Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo, and Joel Embiid who dominated offensively in the second and third quarters.
The frontcourt trio of Davis, Adebayo, and Embiid just imposed their will in the shaded lane and bullied the Australians with their tremendous offensive rebounding.
Meanwhile, Booker operated on his sweet spots and received tons of scoring plays from head coach Steve Kerr when he caught fire midway through the second frame.
Davis top-scored Team USA with 17 points and 14 rebounds while Booker’s’ aggressiveness paid off after contributing 16 markers.
On the other hand, Australia received a monster game from NBA talent Jock Landale who tallied 20 points while Chicago Bulls’ point-forward Josh Giddey had 17 points.
