The U.S. men’s basketball team got a real test from Australia during the Group A game between the countries on Wednesday and escaped with a 98-88 win.
Australia played a tough, physical game and even led going into halftime before Carmelo Anthony and Kyrie Irving helped lead the U.S. to victory in the second half.
After the contest, Paul George, who got a technical foul after pushing Matthew Dellavedova, said he and his teammates knew the Aussies were “a little dirty.”
“We knew we were going to get their best,” George said via FOX Sports Australia’s Tony Harper. “It was an adjustment for us. The game kind of got out of hand early with the physical play.
“We knew that coming in – this team has a knack for being a little dirty.”
You can see how Delly goaded George into the technical foul:
This sort of thing is nothing new for Dellavedova, who has a reputation for being a dirty player.
George also lamented the officials being uneven, saying he was happy to match Australia’s physical play if that’s what they wanted to do.
“We were doing the same stuff they were doing and we got hacked for it. We’re fine playing physical, that’s our game in the NBA, but if they going to allow us to play that way they got to play it both ways.”
Ultimately the U.S. knows Australia is a good team and they embraced the challenge, understanding that the two teams can meet again in the knockout stage.
