The Boomers have overcome a scratchy start to their men's basketball World Cup campaign, with veteran Patty Mills and youngster Josh Giddey starring In a 98-72 win over Finland in Okinawa, Japan.
The Boomers trailed 36-28 in the second quarter but outscored the European nation 17-4 to lead 45-40 at halftime.
They dominated the second half, scoring 53-32.
Atlanta NBA guard Mills top-scored with 25 points, eight rebounds and four steals.
Mills came into the tournament off some shooting woes in the warm-up games, and though he nailed just two of eight from three-point range on Friday, he sunk 50 per cent from the field.
“He’s our major offensive threat, he’s our scorer,” Boomers coach Brian Goorjian said of Mills.
“In the five (warm-up) games everybody has been saying, ‘Shoot shoot’. You don’t have to tell him that, his confidence doesn’t wane.
“We have total belief in him, he’s done it time and time again.”
Oklahoma City Thunder NBA guard Giddey came close to a triple double on his World Cup debut, logging 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
“(My) first World Cup so it's very exciting for me being here. I’ve dreamt of being a Boomer all my childhood growing up,” the 20-year-old Giddey said.
Goorjian gave all 12 of his squad a run, with 10 of them scoring points and four getting into double figures.
World No.24 ranked Finland’s first three field goals were all long bombs, underlining the threat they posed from outside.
They scored the last seven points of the first period to lead 21-14 at quarter-time.
Australia’s initially poor offence improved markedly as the game progressed and they shot 51 per cent from the field.
The Boomers scored 12 straight points either side of halftime to open up a 49-40 advantage and were never troubled again.
The bench supplied plenty of energy, headed by NBA veteran Joe Ingles who tallied 13 points.
“He was the difference, we were in a hole and he shot the ball, he defended,” Goorjian said.
“He’s emotional and he talks and he communicates his feelings. There’s not a lot of our guys like that.”
Dante Exum (10 points) added spark off the bench In the third quarter, racking up eight points and three assists for the term.
Xavier Cooks and Jack White also provided energy in the second half.
Finland’s 213cm Utah Jazz NBA big man Lauri Markkanen top-scored for his side with 19 points.
Australia’s next game is against Germany on Sunday.
