NBA players Mills, Giddey lead Australia to rout of Finland in FIBA World Cup

Australia cruised to a 26-point victory over Finland, 98-72, behind the play of two of their NBA stars in the Group E opener of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Okinawa, Japan.

Patty Mills, who will suit up for the Atlanta Hawks in the coming NBA season, scorched Finland for 25 points while Josh Giddey, the rising star from the Oklahoma City Thunder, flirted with a triple-double with 14 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists.

Two other Boomers reached double figures in scoring with Joe Ingles adding 13 and Dante Exum chipping in with 10.

Lauri Markkanen tallied 19 points, eight rebounds, and four assists for the European squad.

Finland led 21-17 after the first period but Australia turned things around in the second period behind Mills and Giddey, who combined for 18 points to give the Aussies a 45-40 halftime lead.

Australia then cruised in the second half, outscoring their opponents 53-32 in the latter two quarters.

The Boomers now lead Group E with a 1-0 record while Finland is at 0-1. Germany and Japan are also part of the group.

The scores:

Australia 98 - Mills 25, Giddey 14, Ingles 13, Exum 10, Reath 8, White 7, Green 6, Kay 4, Thybulle 2, Daniels 0, Goulding 0.

Finland 72 - Markkanen 19, Salin 13, Jantunen 8, Madsen 8, Valtonen 7, Nkamhoua 6, Murphy 4, Little 3, Kantonen 2, Maxhuni 2, Grandison 0, Seppala 0.

Quarters: 17-21, 45-40, 70-54, 98-72.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News