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Boomers brought down to Earth by red-hot France

AAP

AAP

The Boomers have had a four-game win streak snapped in brutal fashion, with France shooting the lights out in a 73-50 mauling in Strasbourg, France.

Australia were well served by centre Aron Baynes, who poured in 17 points and added 11 rebounds and three blocks, but ultimately had no answer for the home side who were powered by NBA stars Boris Diaw and Nicolas Batum.

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France led from start to finish, and Boomers assistant, three-time NBA champion Luc Longley, said they were guilty of being a gun-shy in the face of an aggressive French team.

“Our offensive execution in the half court never really got going,” Longley said.

“Their rim protection saw us get a little shy and we started to go away from the basket, settling for fade-aways and short jumpers, which isn’t going to get it done at this level.

“Our transition defence was really good. Normally France like to get out in the open floor and use their speed, but to the player’s credit they worked really hard to shut that down.

“As much as we struggled through parts of the game, to only give up 73 points against a quality French team was testament to the quality defence we play and have been playing throughout this tour.”

The loss ends Australia’s nine-game tour of Europe, and they will now head to the Canary Islands to continue preparations for the World Cup, which starts this week.

The Boomers will open their tournament against Slovenia on August 31.

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