The U.S. men's basketball team saw its 78-game winning streak end Saturday when it fell to Australia 98-94 in a FIBA World Cup exhibition in Melbourne.
Coach Gregg Popovich, far from being sullen, sounded philosophical after the defeat.
"You can learn as much or more from losing as winning," a chatty Popovich told reporters after the game (quotes via video from Australia's NBL). "We're all used to winning and losing. USA has been a little bit different over the last 12 years, used to winning, so hopefully we can get back on that track."
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Popovich lauded the Boomers, who defeated the U.S. for the first time on the strength Spurs guard Patty Mills' game-high 30 points, but he also noted that his squad is still learning how to play together after multiple USA stars pulled out of the competition.
"This is a group of guys that's worked very hard . . . to get to know each other and to know a system," he said. "And whatever comes, we can handle. Our job is to try to get better every day. We learned some things tonight. We're actually a better team now than at the start of the game because of the knowledge that we gained. So you move on."
U.S. forward Harrison Barnes (20 points) noted Australia's cohesion on the court.
"This is a great test for us tonight. This is a veteran international team that plays well together," he said.
"The Aussies gave us a great lesson as far as where we want to be and how you have to play in this kind of competition, so we're getting used to that and hopefully learning," Popovich said.
If there was a sore spot for Popovich, it was the Americans' defense. Team USA was outscored 40-26 over the final 15 minutes after building a 10-point lead in the third quarter.
"That's got to be our calling card. We scored 94 and that's good enough," Popovich said. "But we didn't hold them the way we needed to defensively. To us it's obvious that that's what we have to be. We have to be a good defensive and rebounding team. We did that last game (a 102-86 victory over Australia on Thursday), but we didn't do it today."
.@usabasketball head coach Gregg Popovich and Harrison Barnes speak to the media after falling to the Australian Boomers 🎙️#BoomersUSA pic.twitter.com/EBZGpLhgff
— NBL (@NBL) August 24, 2019
Team USA will play one more exhibition, vs. Canada on Monday in Sydney, before beginning play in the World Cup in China on Sept. 1.