Team USA Basketball defeated Australia, 119-86, on Wednesday in the quarterfinals at the 2012 London Olympics.
New York area athletes played a significant role in the victory. Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams had 18 points in 22 minutes, 13 of his points came in the first half which led the U.S. New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony had 17 points in 20 minutes and Knicks center Tyson Chandler had six points in eight minutes.
The U.S. scored 28 points in each of the first three quarters of the game. The U.S. had a comfortable 56-42 halftime lead but saw Australia tie them at 28 points apiece in the third quarter. The fourth quarter belonged to the U.S. as they piled in 35 points and won the game going away. The foul trouble from the first half for the U.S. did not carry over into the second half which helped them to pull away from Australia. The U.S.' dominance in the paint paid off with 32 free throw attempts for the game to Australia's 21 attempts (17 first-half attempts).
Kobe Bryant led the U.S. with 20 points. Kevin Durant, Kevin Love and LeBron James also reached double figures in scoring for the U.S. James ended up with the first triple-double in the Olympics with 11 points, 11 assists and 14 rebounds. Patrick Mills of Australia led all scorers in the game with 26 points.
The U.S. will have a rematch of a Group A game in the semifinals when they meet Argentina on Aug. 10. Argentina defeated Brazil, 82-77, on Wednesday.
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