The United States suffered their first loss in 13 years in a shock defeat by Australia in a World Cup warm-up in Melbourne on Saturday.
The Boomers won 98-94 to end the American’s 78-game winning streak in front of 52,079 fans – a record crowd for the sport at Docklands Stadium. “Obviously, this was a great step for us,” Australia guard Joe Ingles said.
The win also gave the Australians their first win over the Americans after 26 attempts dating back to 1964. Andrej Lemanis’ side overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half to end the United States’ streak, a run which started with the bronze medal game at the 2006 World Championships.
Guard Patty Mills, who plays for San Antonio Spurs, scored a game-high 30 points for Australia, against an American side ranked number one in FIBA’s world rankings but without many of the NBA’s top stars who have opted not to take part in the World Cup. “They wanted it more than us tonight,” US and Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker said. “Lesson learned for us.”
