The Boomers have suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Germany in their second game of the FIBA World Cup, going down 85-82 at Okinawa Arena.
It was a big missed opportunity for Australia given Germany was dealt a big blow before Sunday’s game with rising NBA star Franz Wagner ruled out.
Wagner had suffered an ankle injury late in Germany’s 81-63 win over Japan and while team doctor Oliver Putz ruled out a serious issue, it was still enough to rule the 22-year-old out.
NBA star Dennis Schroder stepped up in his absence, leading the way for Germany with 30 points, eight assists and four steals.
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Maodo Lo also had 20 points and provided Germany, going 8-of-12 from the field including four 3-pointers as he helped keep the offence humming with Schroder on the bench.
“That guard was tremendous when Schroder was out of there,” Boomers coach Brian Goorjian said of Lo.
“We had a strategy for that to go after him more when Schroder rested and he was the one that kept them going and kept making big shot after big shot… much respect for both of those guards.
“I didn’t think I’d be sitting here and that was how we were losing the game because we’re pretty good perimetre defenders and they had their way with us.”
It was a tight contest right until the very end, with Josh Giddey taking a hail-mary shot from deep to win it and appealing that he was fouled.
“Brian Goorjian furious here saying that call decided the game,” John Casey said in commentary.
Giddey was also unable to get back into the game for Australia’s best chance to level the scores late because of a blood issue, with Patty Mills turning the ball over in that sequence.
In saying all of that, the Boomers also had themselves to blame for that turnover along with giving up a cheap bucket instead of fouling Germany late.
As a whole, Australia conceded easy early buckets throughout various stages of the game which put the Boomers in a position where they were constantly needing to chase points.
It will be interesting to see whether Josh Green gets more playing time as the tournament progresses, having entered the World Cup with an ankle issue and only seeing 16 minutes on Sunday.
Coach Goorjian though insisted Green was “100 per cent” and the Dallas Mavericks star’s energy and athleticism on both ends of the floor will certainly help.
Mills led Australian scorers with 21 points, although just four of those came in the second half.
Germany got off to a fast start, jumping out to an 8-0 lead as relentless defensive pressure disrupted Australia’s offensive rhythm early.
It prompted Boomers coach Brian Goorjian to call a swift timeout, with miscommunication on the defensive end resulting in Johannes Voigtmann scoring an easy dunk over Giddey.
Giddey was defending the paint looking for the double team to come on the baseline side but was instead left all alone to defend the German big man and easily passed for the score.
“I don’t know what’s going on, man,” Goorjian said.
“F***, we’re playing for our lives. Two dead bodies. Swallow the f**king ball… we’ve got to pick this up, it’s embarrassing.”
Australia eventually got on the board as Mills, who had a game-high 25 points in the win over Finland, made a pullup jumper but Germany responded with a 3-pointer of its own.
It turns out ‘FIBA Patty’ is certainly a thing as Mills went on a run to put the Boomers on his back, scoring Australia’s first 13 points of the game to cut Germany’s lead to 16-13.
Goorjian quickly then went to his bench as Joe Ingles, Xavier Cooks and Dante Exum were all introduced to the game and the latter made an immediate impact.
Exum, having impressed in his minutes against Finland, dished it out for Nick Kay to make a 3-pointer as Australia’s offence started to get in a rhythm with Germany up 18-16 after seven minutes.
The new Mavericks addition continued to create – both for himself and others – scoring his first bucket of the night and driving towards the rim before kicking it out to Dallas teammate Josh Green.
Green’s 3-pointer gave Australia its first lead of the night, up 23-22 and later taking a 25-24 buffer into the second quarter.
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The second unit once again proved crucial to getting the Boomers on the right track while Mills led the scorers with 13 points to go with three rebounds at the quarter.
That same defensive intensity was not always there in the second quarter though and Germany took advantage, jumping out to a 39-31 lead after a Dennis Schroder 3-pointer.
Germany did particularly well early to disrupt Giddey with its size and defensive pressure, forcing the 20-year-old into a turnover as he struggled to settle into the game.
Giddey eventually had his first points of the game midway through the second quarter as he drove towards the rim with aggression for the tough finish.
The Oklahoma City guard was at it again later in the quarter with another layup as the aggressive drives really started to open the game up for Giddey, who then found Cooks for a strong finish.
Australia had cut the deficit to 41-39 at that point as Germany called a timeout and immediate made a 3-pointer through Voigtmann when play resumed.
Giddey then once more used his size as Germany sat back and dared him to shoot, instead driving towards the basket once more and laying it in.
The Boomers had done well to once more overcome a slow start to the quarter but a costly Matisse Thybulle foul on a Schroder 3-point attempt pushed Germany’s lead out to 49-44.
That remained the halftime score, with Schroder finishing on a game-high 18 points to go with five assists, two steals and one rebound.
The Boomers did a great job against Lauri Markkanen in the win over Finland and Cooks was particularly valuable in trying to contain Schroder with his athleticism, length and energy off the bench.
Mills, meanwhile, led the way for Australia with 17 points while Giddey had eight points and two assists to go with a pair of turnovers after a quiet start.
Speaking of Mills, his scoring was also creating opportunities for teammates as a hard cutting action from the veteran guard compressed the Germany defence and left Duop Reath open in the corner.
The Boomers’ starting big man made the 3 for his points of the game, cutting Germany’s lead to 51-49 before Andreas Obst made all three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt.
That saw Germany kick out to a 53-49 buffer but to the Boomers’ credit they didn’t let it balloon out again, with Reath crashing the boards for the putbank dunk after a Mills 3-pointer missed.
Reath then made his second 3-pointer of the night soon after before quickly getting the ball in Mills’ hands after a defensive rebound, with the Boomers pushing it in transition as Giddey dunked it home.
That gave Australia a 58-57 lead with just over five minutes left in the third quarter, forcing Germany into a timeout.
That lead was short-lived though as a nifty Schroder breezed in and out of Nick Kay off a screen for the smooth finish as Germany went up 59-58.
The seesawing nature of the game continued though as Australia went down the other hand and Ingles drove towards Schroder and then kicked it out to Exum for the 3-pointer.
The Ingles-Exum connection produced again to put the Boomers ahead 63-59 while Exum was also making plays on defence as he blocked a Johannes Thiemann 3-pointer.
Exum finished the third quarter with seven points, four rebounds and one block in another productive third quarter for the 28-year-old, was similarly impactful in that period of the Finland game.
Germany though opened the first quarter as it did the first, going on an early 10-0 run as Goorjian called a timeout and put Mills back into the game for Exum.
Goorjian also took Nick Kay out after he was heavily targeted in defence by Germany, bringing back Cooks in what shape as a critical period in the game.
Cooks was able to make an immediate impact on both ends of the floor as well, with an assist, two rebounds, steal and six points as the result hung in the balance.
A tough finish from Giddey tied the game at 79-79 with two minutes to go before a foul on Schroder saw Germany push two ahead once more.
Giddey wasn’t always making the highlight-reel passes we have quickly become used to with the 20-year-old but he continued to use his body and drive with aggression to make an impact in a different way.
Giddey once again went right to the rim as he finished over a pair of defenders to level the game once more.
Schroder then put Germany ahead by a bucket again before Giddey drew a foul, making one of his two free throws to leave the score at 83-82 with 20 seconds on the clock.
Defensive pressure from Kay forced Schroder into a turnover, giving Australia a chance to go ahead but Mills turned it over as Germany claimed a tight win.
AUSTRALIA STARTING FIVE
3 – Josh Giddey
5 – Patty Mills
2 – Matisse Thybulle
15 – Nick Kay
26 – Duop Reath
GERMANY STARTING FIVE
0 – Isaac Bonga
7 – Johannes Voigtmann
10 – Daniel Theis
17 – Dennis Schroder
13 – Andread Obst
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As for the World Cup action itself, the Boomers are part of Group E and will play Finland in their first official game to kick off the tournament.
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That game is scheduled for 6pm AEST on Friday, August 25. Australia is also scheduled to face Germany (6.30pm, August 27) and Japan (9.10pm, August 29) to round out the group stage.
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