Former Arizona Wildcat Josh Green and Team Australia will be taking home some hardware.
The Aussies defeated Luka Doncic and Team Slovenia 107-93 in the men’s basketball bronze medal game of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, August 7 at Saitama Super Arena.
History was made on both ends of the floor as Australia won its first-ever Olympic basketball medal and Slovenia played in its first-ever Olympic medal game.
Here are five key stats from the bronze medal game.
Bucket Getters
Australia controlled the tempo from tip-off, outscoring the Slovenians in all four quarters. Shooting from the field was lights out for Australia who finished the game shooting 55% (40/73), including 74% (26/35) from two-point range and 37% (14/38) from three-point range. Slovenia managed a better free throw percentage than Australia, but Slovenia made fewer free throws which all but cancels out the better percentage.
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Missed Opportunities
Even though the shots were not always going down, Slovenia had plenty of second chances. They outrebounded the Aussies 39-32, both on offense and defense. Turnovers hampered the Slovenians, finishing the game with 17 compared to the Australians 10. Slovenia also had 23 personal fouls, which gave Australia more chances to score at the free-throw line.
Take a bow, Patty Mills
NBA fans are very familiar with Mills and his playing strategy. He is a passing guard who can drive to the rim and distribute the ball well, but he is not much of a high scorer. This was an Olympic medal game though, and Mills out of nowhere became a high-scoring offensive player. Mills put the team on his back and scored a game-high 42 points. The starting five from Slovenia only scored 52 points. Mills tied his career-high in international play and exceeded his NBA high of 34 points.
Imagine if Doncic was at 100%
After suffering a wrist injury against France that some would argue cost Slovenia a shot at the gold medal, Doncic still made his presence felt. In the bronze medal game, Doncic flirted with a triple-double, scoring 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. If Doncic had not suffered that injury, expect these numbers to have been doubled.
Josh Green did not play, but that is okay
One Aussie absent from the field of play was former UA basketball player Josh Green. Green was listed as a DNP with no explanation from Team Australia why that was. Regardless, Green will take home a medal and add to the total that many Wildcats have won at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
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