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The Boomers have overcome a scratchy start to their FIBA Basketball World Cup campaign, with veteran Patty Mills and young NBA superstar Josh Giddey combining to inspire a 98-72 win over Finland in Okinawa, Japan.
The Boomers trailed 36-28 in the second quarter but outscored the European nation 17-4 to lead 45-40 at halftime. They dominated the second half, scoring 53-32.
Atlanta NBA guard Mills was Australia’s hero in the Boomers historic run to a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics and top-scored for the Aussies again with 25 points, eight rebounds and four steals.
Mills came into the tournament off some shooting woes in the warm-up games, and though he nailed just two of eight from three-point range on Friday, he sunk 50 per cent from the field.
Mills was still struggling with the three ball, but he found other ways to punish Finland and lead the Boomers to a big opening match win at the World Cup
Fellow veteran Joe Ingles was also influential and he said the players had no doubt Mills would respond on the big stage in Japan
‘He’s our major offensive threat, he’s our scorer,’ Boomers coach Brian Goorjian said of Mills.
‘In the five (warm-up) games everybody has been saying, ‘Shoot shoot’. You don’t have to tell him that, his confidence doesn’t wane.
‘We have total belief in him, he’s done it time and time again.’
Ingles added that Mills’ teammates had no doubt he would respond once he reached the big stage.
‘Did everyone know he would respond?,’ Ingles mused.
‘We knew he would, but I don’t know that everyone thought he would.
‘I mean, it’s what he does.
‘I think after not playing that stretch in the NBA (with Brooklyn), it’s different playing a lot of minutes and that is a different role that he has had.
‘We’ve seen the behind the scenes work that a lot of people don’t see.’
Australian Boomers Brian Goorjian had the luxury of using all 12 players against Finland as the score blew out late in the match
Young star Josh Giddey just missed out on a place at the Tokyo Olympics but is already showing he belongs at this level in Japan
Oklahoma City Thunder NBA guard Giddey came close to a triple double on his World Cup debut, logging 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
He credited coach Goorjian for inspiring the side to turn around a second quarter eight-point deficit into a booming win.
‘Credit to Finland, they came out ready to play, more than we did,’ Giddey said.
‘But Goorj called a timeout midway through the second and that’s when the tide really turned.
‘We picked it up defensively, took care of the ball a bit better and we went on that run.’
Goorjian gave all 12 of his squad a run, with 10 of them scoring points and four getting into double figures.
World No.24 ranked Finland’s first three field goals were all long bombs, underlining the threat they posed from outside.
They scored the last seven points of the first period to lead 21-14 at quarter-time.
Australia’s initially poor offence improved markedly as the game progressed and they shot 51 per cent from the field.
The Boomers scored 12 straight points either side of halftime to open up a 49-40 advantage and were never troubled again.
The Australian players thank the fans after getting through their first pool match with a vital win
The travelling Aussie supporters were in good spirits following the Boomers’ opening win against Finland in Okinawa
The bench supplied plenty of energy, headed by NBA veteran Joe Ingles who tallied 13 points.
‘He was the difference, we were in a hole and he shot the ball, he defended,’ Goorjian said.
‘He’s emotional and he talks and he communicates his feelings. There’s not a lot of our guys like that.’
Dante Exum (10 points) added spark off the bench In the third quarter, racking up eight points and three assists for the term.
Xavier Cooks and Jack White also provided energy in the second half.
Finland’s 213cm Utah Jazz NBA big man Lauri Markkanen top-scored for his side with 19 points.
Australia’s next game is against Germany on Sunday.
