Mills and Bogut power Boomers past France in opener

RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - Australia landed telling blows in the third quarter and beat France, 87-66, on the opening day of the Olympic Basketball Tournament.

Pat Mills led the Boomers with 21 points and Aron Baynes provided a huge presence under the basket for most of the contest. Andrew Bogut, who has battled back from a knee injury picked up in the NBA Finals to make his country's roster, had 18 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds and 5 assists in a complete performance.

Turning Point: After building a big lead, the Boomers saw Tony Parker bring Les Bleus back with 16 first-half points to get them within 36-33. But Andrej Lemanis' team landed telling blows to start the second half with a Matthew Dellavedova alley-oop pass for a Bogut dunk triggering a 12-2 Australia run. The Australian men, seeking their first-ever medal at an Olympics, held a comfortable lead the rest of the way.

Stats Don't Lie: The Boomers had 29 assists on 35 made field goals, showing their willingness to share the ball and only settle for the best available shots. Dellavedova led the way with 10 dimes, Joe Ingles had 6, while Mills and Bogut had 5 each.

Game Hero: Bogut, playing in his first game at an Olympics since 2008, showed no signs of being troubled by his knee or having any rust to shake off as he hit on 9-of-10 shot attempts. 

The Bottom Line: It's back to the drawing board for France who turned the ball over 17 times. They will face China on Monday. The Boomers will take a huge amount of confidence from this convincing win and look to stick to this winning formula in their clash against Serbia also on Monday.  

FIBA