Team USA reaches World Basketball q’finals, drubs Australia 113-73

Team USA reached the quarterfinals of the FIBA World Championship Sunday by scoring a runaway win over Australia, 113-73, a report posted on the FIBA website said. Next in line for Team USA is the Dirk Nowitzki-led Germany quintet, which advanced to the quarterfinals after escaping with a 78-77 win over Nigeria, the same report said. Carmelo Anthony had a game-high 20 points and Joe Johnson came off the bench to score 12 of his 18 in the first half as the United States took control in the second period. Australia was held without a field goal for over seven minutes in the said quarter to erect a 30-point lead at halftime. “We just picked up our energy in the second quarter," Johnson said. “We haven’t really got off to good starts these past few games but we came out in the second period, picked up our defensive intensity and started making easy plays and getting easy baskets." “We started very well and in the second quarter turned on the defensive pressure and that decided the game for us," forward Shane Battier said. “This team really cares about basketball and playing the game the right way, with each other and not against each other. It's a really fun way to play. The guys are unselfish and we are having fun out there. We have a tough game against Germany coming up, but it's exciting to see the hunger our team has and how we still want to play better," he added. A pair of three-pointers by Battier and Anthony opened scoring for the highly-touted US team but Australia, behind CJ Bruton and Brad Newley matched the Americans’ firepower in the early going of the game. Brian Goordjian's men took their only lead of the game, 15-14, on a three by center Andrew Bogut, who finished with 20 points. The United States - who changed their line up very regularly in the first half - brought Dwyane Wade and Kirk Heinrich off the bench with three minutes left in the first period and the pair contributed immediately. Heinrich hit a jumper before Wade made two lay ups but Newley added another three and a dunk as Australia stayed within striking distance, 27-23, after the first quarter. But with Team USA tightening on its interior defense, the game was all over by the second quarter as Australia as forced to miss their shots from outside. Australia had to wait until CJ Bruton hit a jumper with 2:50 left to play in the first half to get their first basket of the second quarter, by which stage the lead had ballooned to 20, 46-26. Chris Paul found Wade for a reverse dunk as the Americans started scoring in style and Australia's deficit reached 30 at half-time, 59-29, as Johnson stole the ball and went in for a uncontested flush to cap off a personal 7-0 run at the end of the second quarter. Bogut re-established an inside presence for Australia early in the third quarter, getting fouled and sent to the free-throw line where he converted his two shots before hitting a hook shot. But a barrage of three-point shots coming from Battier and Brad Miller late in the third increased the lead to 40, 88-48. Australia opened the final period with an 8-0 run - capped off by Aaron Bruce's back-to-back lay ups - to bring the deficit back under 35 points, 88-57, before Chris Bosh responded for the USA. Bosh scored on a three-pointer, a long jumper and a pair of free throws for a 101-62 lead and Paul and Johnson then closed out the game. After the game, Bogut conceded that the second quarter hurt Australia's chances of making a real game of it. “We just turned the ball over too much. They didn't really shut us down. They forced us into turning the ball over and we didn't really get any shots while they were able to run and get some dunks. If you play the USA like we did in that quarter, you're going to lose," he said. Team USA coach Mike Kryzewski said he expects a tough challenge in their game against Germany. “This was a big win for us, because we have a lot of respect for the Australian team. We'll make adjustments to the base of defense that we have ahead of the Germany game. We'll study them to be as ready as possible. We hope to keep everyone healthy, with the moral high and then we might make some small adjustments," he said. -GMANews.TV