Australia lost in heartbreaking fashion to Spain in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, but the Boomers still have an opportunity to medal for the first time ever in an international competition.
Standing in their way: France, which followed up its win over Team USA in the quarter-finals with a 14-point loss to Argentina in the semi-finals.
What does Australia have to do to walk away from the tournament with a bronze medal? Here are some keys to what should be a thrilling matchup between Australia and France on Sunday.
The continued brilliance of Patty Mills
The San Antonio Spurs guard continued his strong tournament play in Australia's loss to Spain in the semi-finals.
Though he missed a crucial free throw at the end of regulation and committed a game-high seven turnovers, Mills scored 34 points to lead the way for the Boomers. He was one of only three players to score in double figures for Australia, the others being Nic Kay (16) and Andrew Bogut (12).
It was the second time in this World Cup that Mills has scored 30 or more points and the fifth time he's scored 20 or more points. He's now the tournament's leading scorer with an average of 23.9 points per game on impressive 50-40-86 shooting splits.
.@Patty_Mills recorded a game-high 34 PTS in 2OT vs. Spain! 🔥
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) September 13, 2019
Despite the loss, Australia will still play for its first-ever #FIBAWC medal Sunday.pic.twitter.com/qVCim8Wwm2
His scoring will be even more crucial against a team that is headlined by a two-time Defensive Player of the Year in Rudy Gobert, as well as a versatile perimeter defender in New York Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina, who helped France slow down Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker in its win over Team USA in the quarter-finals.
Mills won't be able to get it done all by himself, though.
The supporting cast
Australia entered the semi-finals with more NBA talent than the other remaining countries.
Other than Mills and Bogut, however, the NBA players on Australia's roster struggled.
Joe Ingles finished with 10 rebounds and seven assists against Spain, but he scored only four points on 1-for-9 shooting from the field. It was a similar case with Matthew Dellavedova — he had a team-high nine assists but added only six points on 2-for-9 shooting from the field. Dellavedova was held scoreless from the second period onwards as all six of his points came in the opening frame.
Aron Baynes, meanwhile, scored six points on 2-for-5 shooting, while Mitch Creek was limited to two points off the bench.
None of them are big-time scorers like Mills, but Ingles, Dellavedova, Baynes and Creek have each had breakout games in this tournament. In fact, Ingles, Baynes and Creek each had their highest scoring outputs of the tournament in Australia's win over France in the second round, with the three combining for 52 points.
In addition to the 30 points Mills scored, it was just enough for Australia to take down France, winning by a final score of 100-98.
That gives the Boomers a blueprint to defeat them again, this time with a bronze medal being on the line.
France's guard play
Speaking of that second round matchup, it was Orlando Magic guard Evan Fournier who led the way for France. He scored a team-high 31 points in the loss, shooting 8-for-15 from 2-point range and 3-for-8 from 3-point range.
Fournier had an off-night against Argentina in the quarter-finals, but he's been one of the best scorers in this tournament overall. His 20.3 points per game rank him behind only six players and he's been lights out from deep, connecting on 14 of his 35 3-point attempts.
Fournier wasn't the only guard to have a big game against Australia in the second round for France. Nando De Colo, a two-time EuroLeague champion and one-time EuroLeague MVP, had his highest scoring game of the tournament with 26 points off the bench.
With Fournier and De Colo being France's leading scorers, they will likely be at the top of Australia's scouting report on Sunday, right alongside Gobert.
Taking care of the ball
Turnovers were a problem in Australia's loss to Spain, to say the least.
Not only did the Boomers have far more than Spain — 22 compared to 14 — Spain punished them for being careless with the ball. Whereas more than a quarter of Spain's points (25) came off of Australia's turnovers, Australia scored only nine points off of Spain's mistakes.
It started with Mills, who had seven turnovers, but Dellavedova added six, followed by three each from Ingles and Baynes.
Turnovers have been a problem for Australia throughout the tournament. The same can't be said for France, which ranks 29th out of 32 teams in turnovers per game.
In a game that features equally talented teams, turnovers could go a long way in deciding the outcome.
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