Basketball On The Internet.

AUSTRALIA's Boomers have soared to a magnificent all-the-way 87-66 rout of France in a spellbinding opening match at the Rio Olympic Games.

Ranked #5 in the world by FIBA and a bronze medallist at the 2014 World Cup, France had no answer to the inside presence and dominance of Andrew Bogut (18 points at 90 per cent, five assists) and Aron Baynes (14 points, game-high eight rebounds), or Australia's teamwork and precision shooting.

The Boomers shot at 50 per cent and had 29 assists on their 35 baskets, in stark contrast to France's 12 on 24 makes.

Bogut (below) was a beast as Australia won its opening match at an Olympics for the first time since beating Korea by 23 in Atlanta to open its 1996 campaign. (An omen, maybe?) And France is in a different league to Korea.

Patty Mills led all scorers with 21 points (five assists) and Matthew Dellavedova had 10 assists as the Boomers received contributions across the board, coach Andrej Lemanis with the luxury of getting all 12 men into the contest.

Consecutive buckets by Baynes kick-started Australia to 4-0, Bogut made it 6-3 after Boris Diaw struck a 3-pointer for France before Mills unloaded with two 3-pointers in an 8-point personal run.

Baynes free throws bumped the lead to 16-7 and Australia was rolling, ahead 20-14 at the first break.

A 12-3 run to start the second kept the momentum rolling, Ryan Broekhoff aborting two free throws before coolly converting a triple from the top of the key for 30-17, David Andersen bumping it to 32-17.

Australia was leading 34-19 before it was "Parker Time" as France's NBA championship playmaker Tony Parker seized the game by the scruff of the neck.

Parker singlehandedly led the French resistance, steadily narrowing the margin as the Boomers struggled for a response.

The dynamic guard unloaded 16 points for the period dragging France back as Lemanis even copped a technical foul 7.9 seconds out from halftime. The Boomers boss had cause for angst, especially with some of the calls which hindered Joe Ingles.

But Parker slotted the free throw and on the additional possession and with time ticking away, stuck a jumper to rip Australia's interval lead back to 36-33.

Delly to Bogut for a basket, then Delly to Mills made it a fast start to the third quarter.

Parker missed a three from the corner, busy flopping to try and draw a foul as Australia instead raced down the floor for Mills (pictured below) to nail a 3-pointer in transition, the lead back out to 10.

Delly down the lane made it 48-36, then he fed an alley to Bogut for 50-38.

Bogut put his body on the line to draw a charge from Diaw, then threw a wicked bounce pass to Mills cutting for a reverse.

This was just joyous stuff to behold before Mickael Gelabale led a mini-revival to draw France back to 46-53.

But the efforts of Gelabale were to little avail as a Baynes hook and a Kevin Lisch jumpshot made it 57-46.

Broekhoff was shining at the defensive end with a key board and a terrific steal on which he was fouled, allowing him to bump the buffer to 61-48 with a quarter to go.

Lisch made it 63-48, then the fun truly started with Delly to Bogey twice in succession for two big buckets, the second a severe slam.

Bogut blocked a shot, then dribbled coast-to-coast before feeding Andersen for a 69-50 lead.

Then, with 6:07 to play, Bogues took the ball from the outside, drove to the hoop and slammed down a dunk for 71-52 and France wasn't going to get back.

Was Bogey having the time of his life, or what?

When Parker again threatened, Lemanis turned to defensive-stopper Damian Martin who knocked down a three for good measure.

Despite his foul woes, Ingles still had six assists, and finished with two delightful fast break plays as well, Australia closing on a justified high from an outstanding performance. 

AUSTRALIAN BOOMERS 87 (Mills 21, Bogut 18, Baynes 14, Broekhoff, Lisch 7; Baynes 8 rebs; Dellavedova 10 assts) d FRANCE 66 (Parker 18, Gelabale 13, Heurtel 8; Gobert 7 rebs; De Colo 3 assts).