Dante Exum
Oct 21, 2014; Oklahoma City, OK, USA Utah Jazz guard Dante Exum (11) handles the ball while being guarded by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Sebastian Telfair (31) during the third quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. REUTERS/Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Utah Jazz’s tandem of Dante Exum and Brock Motum displayed strong performances in the youngsters’ first international friendly with the Boomers during the team’s FIBA exhibition against Lithuania. Despite losing to the Lithuanians 80-68, Boomers have seen a glimpse of what would be an Australian version of Jazz legends John Stockton and Karl Malone.

Exum, who is coming off his rookie season with the Jazz, scored six points, along with two rebounds and two assists, in a little under 20 minutes of playing time. The Australian point guard, who suffered an ankle injury during Jazz’s first game in the NBA Summer League, had limited minutes in the game, but had showed potential as a contributor for Australia’s basketball team. Exum’s international competition debut was highlighted by a backdoor cut that led to a two-handed dunk off an Andrew Bogut feed.

Bogut was also in the Boomer’s friendly loss in Klaipeda, but the big man showed rustiness on the hard court. Bogut, who recently won the NBA title with the Golden State Warriors in June, was scoreless during in the tune-up game. The Aussie centre did not convert any of his seven attempts and finished the match with four fouls.

Motum, on the other hand, was impressive after scoring 19 points for Australia. The 24-year-old power forward shot 8-10 from the field, including 1-2 from behind the arc. Motum’s strong performance was underlined with a left-handed throw down against a Lithuanian defender.

Boomers coach Andrej Lemanis was satisfied with the team’s showing, pointing out that it was the team’s first competitive game. The Latvian coach added that the team’s objective in the international friendly is to find Australia’s “rhythm” and improve as a team, according to Fox Sports.

Boomers led by eight points in the first quarter, but were outscored in the following periods. David Andersen contributed with 12 points, while Chris Goulding had 10. NBA role player Matthew Dellavedova, who recently signed a one-year deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Cameron Bairstow were both rested for the game.

Australia will face Lithuania again on Friday, before the team heads to Slovenia for another two warm-up games. Boomers will face the Tall Blacks on August 15 in Melbourne for the FIBA Oceania qualifiers.

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