In a nail-biting matchup, Greece bested Australia behind 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and two steals on 73 percent shooting from Giannis Antetokounmpo—who started at centre for the first time all tournament:
The opening quarter was a rock fight in this pivotal matchup for both teams. Giannis began proceedings with his patented push-shot from the paint, followed by a Nick Calathes three, and then a Giannis euro-step to the rim for two free throws. The Bucks superstar then began finding his teammates as Australia swarmed to him, whipping it over to Konstantinos Mitoglou for three. The broadcast showed the Boomers’ huddle, with players shouting “keep making him work!” Greece led 25-24 after one.
The second frame was where Greece put its foot to Australia’s throat, leading 53-36 by halftime. Giannis was attracting multiple Boomers with every touch. That, and his willingness to sprint in and out of pick and rolls, requiring Australian defenders to tag him as he bounded to the rim, created gorgeous open looks for his teammates. Additionally, Greece’s defence was key to their dominance, forcing multiple live-ball turnovers as Giannis scored explosively in transition, giving his signature “mean mug” as the Hellas bench went wild. Greece ended the half forcing nine Australia turnovers while winning the rebounding battle seventeen to seven.
Australia did its best to claw back Greece’s seventeen-point lead but was largely ineffective in the third period as well, only reducing the deficit by five at quarter’s end. Giannis kept drawing attention and spraying the ball out, but Greece failed to make shots, shooting just 28 percent in the third. The Boomers tried some two big lineups to combat the Antetokounmpo and Mitoglou/Georgios Papagiannis combinations, subbing the rarely used Duop Reath into the game. Australia threatened, but for the most part, the Hellas came out unscathed, leading 62-50 going into the final frame.
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The fourth quarter, however, was a much different story, with the Boomers fighting back. Dyson Daniels powered the Aussies in the opening minutes, reducing the deficit to seven with a nice pass to Jock Landale for the dunk, along with his own catch-and-shoot three. Giannis responded with the typical theatrics, nailing a dribble-up three and following that up with a spinning and-one finish. But the Boomers kept pushing, narrowing the Hellas’ lead to just two points late into the contest.
In the end, Australia’s strategy was very clear; like Greece’s other opponents, they were going to live and die with the Hellas guards making wide-open threes. This strategy, by and large, worked well throughout the game, with the boys in blue shooting just 28 percent from three. But it proved costly in the final minutes, with Giannis zipping it out to Vassilis Toliopoulos for a dagger triple. Thomas Walkup then followed up with a back-breaking three of his own to give the Greeks a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, winning 77-71 against the dejected Australians.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Greece to its first win at the Paris Games, hitting 20 points during Friday’s game to beat Australia 77-71. The win gives Greece hope of advancing to next week’s quarterfinal round.
Antetokounmpo said after the win, according to The Associated Press. “We felt like we had a very good team to not get the win. And we competed. We fight for all three games. And I think this has been a game that we had to fight for until the end.”
