Team USA found itself in a dogfight at halftime against Australia in the first of two exhibition games this week at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne. The Americans led by just one point at the break, but then they flexed their muscles in the third quarter, outscoring the Boomers 32-18 in the frame to cruise to a 102-86 victory on Thursday.
Utah Jazz star and Team USA captain Donovan Mitchell spoke about the third-quarter dominance, via Roy Ward of WAtoday:
“We feel like we can be unstoppable if we can play like that for 40 minutes,” Mitchell said of the third-quarter run.
“We want to build and build upon that. I'm not saying we are there yet, we have a long way to go to get there, but we are in good shape.”
Team USA started the third quarter on a 15-4 run to blow the game open. Mitchell scored five of his 13 points during this crucial stretch for Gregg Popovich's squad. The Jazz guard also had two steals in the game.
Fellow captain Kemba Walker led the way with 23 points overall.
Team USA has now won its first two exhibition games ahead of the FIBA World Cup. The Americans will face off against the Boomers once again on Saturday at Marvel Stadium. After that, there's an exhibition against Canada in Sydney on Monday before the World Cup begins on Aug. 31.
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