The U.S. men’s national basketball team fell to Australia for the first time ever Saturday in Sydney by a score of 98-94.
Of course, none of the players were happy with the loss, but Jaylen Brown seemed particularly motivated by the team’s most recent result. He’s been through some trying times over the last year alongside his Boston Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart, so we’d think that has led Brown to emphasize accountability.
“I think there are infinite ways we can go. I just think that we have to go in the right direction,” Brown said, per MassLive’s John Karalis. “Move forward in terms of our mindset, in terms of a mentality, and I think that’s bigger than whether we overreact or under-react. We got to change our mentality.
“We’re playing for something bigger than ourselves,” Brown added. “Having an understanding of that and a humility of that is something we all have to have. I think we could have showed that a little bit better against Australia. We got to do a better job of having the right mentality, whether it’s an early game, whether it’s a back-to-back, whatever it is. We got to come out and be the aggressors, rather than the one being seeked.”
Brown certainly was aggressive, specifically on the defensive end, on Saturday vs. Australia. The 22-year-old helped to create plenty of opportunities for his teammates and, on one occasion, Tatum was the beneficiary, turning a Brown-forced turnover into a one-handed slam.
Brown finished with eight points on 3-of-3 shooting, while Tatum had five of his own in a rough shooting night (2-for-8). Kemba Walker, Boston’s new point guard, led all U.S. scorers with 22 points. Smart finished with seven points and three assists over nine minutes in his return from injury.
