Australia edge out Italy to go up 2-0 in the Olympics / News - Basketnews.com

Two undefeated teams - Australia and Italy - faced off in Tokyo. After a hard-fought game, Australia (2-0) edged out Italy (1-1) 86-83 (25-25, 19-20, 21-17, 21-21).

Player of the Game EFF 22 Nick Kay Points 15 Accuracy 6-7 Rebounds 7 Assists 2

Australia opened the game with two 3-pointers from Patty Mills and Aaron Baynes, but after a step-back jumper from Simone Fontecchio, Italy took an 8-9 lead. The Boomers didn't let up and gained a 21-15 following a Jock Landale dunk. Nico Mannion ended the quarter with a floater, tying the game at 25.

The Golden State Warriors guard scored seven straight points to start the second period to give Italy a 32-30 advantage. The lead continued to change hands, with Italy going into halftime with a narrow one-point edge (44-45).

Achille Polonara and Nico Mannion started the second half well to give the Italians a 46-52 lead. However, Australia answered with a 12-0 run and took back the advantage (58-52). Italy stayed in it and were only down by three to end the quarter (65-62).

The Aussies maintained their advantage in the fourth, however, Italy stayed within striking distance and cut their deficit to a single point after Michele Vitali's 3-pointer (67-68). But then, Australia kicked into high gear and went up by eight after a Landale 3-pointer with 4:31 to go.

However, Italy would not roll over and came within four points after Simone Fontecchio's four-point play (71-75). On the next two Australian possessions, Patty Mills missed two 3-pointers, but Jock Landale got the offensive rebound on both instances. Joe Ingles converted one of those rebounds into a 3-pointer to put his team up by seven with 2:38 remaining.

Mannion managed to make it a single-possession game with 24 seconds to go (79-82). But on the other end, Matisse Thybulle and Patty Mills converted four free throws and Australia held on to an 86-83 victory to go up 2-0 in the tournament.

Australia: Jock Landale 18 (7 rebounds), Patty Mills 16 (6 rebounds, 5 assists), Nic Kay (7 rebounds), Joe Ingles 14 (5 assists, 4 rebounds), Aaron Baynes 14 (7 rebounds).

Italy: Simone Fontecchio 22, Nico Mannion 21 (7 assists), Achille Polonara 12 (7 rebounds), Danilo Gallinari 5 (19 minutes).

UP NEXT:

Australia will try to keep their winning streak going in Saturday's game against Germany (11:20 EEST).

Italy will fight for a ticket to the quarter-finals on Saturday against Nigeria (07:40 EEST).

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