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Pistons Baynes helps Boomers to semis with rout of Lithuania

Aron Baynes and the Boomers remain on course to challenge Team USA for the Olympic gold medal in men’s basketball.

Australia, which emerged in pool play as the clearest threat to the United States’ pursuit of Olympic gold, moved on to the semifinals with their rout of Lithuania on Wednesday morning in Rio de Janeiro in the first of four quarterfinal matches.

Baynes, the most consistent member of Stan Van Gundy’s bench unit in his first season with the Pistons last year, finished with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists as Australia romped to a 90-64 win over a Lithuania team that included Toronto center Jonas Valanciunas and 2016 lottery pick Domantas Sabonis.

Australia will play in the semifinals on Friday against the winner of tonight’s final quarterfinal match between bitter rivals Serbia and Croatia. The Boomers wouldn’t meet the United States until the gold medal game, should both advance to Sunday’s championship.

Baynes helped establish Australia’s early dominance, taking a charge from Lithuania on the game’s first possession. The Aussies led 26-17 after one quarter, getting two quick Matthew Dellavedova triples to take a 6-0 lead and another from him at the buzzer as the Aussies hit 5 of 10 triples in the quarter.

It was 48-30 at halftime as Australia dominated at both ends with an offense based on ball movement and the 3-point attack led by Patty Mills (24 points, 5 of 11 triples) and Dellavedova (15 points) and a defense anchored by Baynes and Andrew Bogut. The Boomers forced Lithuania into 13 first-half turnovers and dominated the game from the 3-point arc

Australia lost one of its rotation big men, Cameron Bairstow, to a dislocated shoulder in pool play, meaning extended minutes for Baynes, Bogut and Aussie national team veteran David Andersen, who played two seasons in the NBA with Houston, Toronto and New Orleans. Bairstow was briefly Pistons property this summer, coming over from Chicago in trade for Spencer Dinwiddie, though the Pistons declined to guarantee his contract for 2016-17, making him a free agent.

Baynes, who hit 7 of 9 shots and didn’t commit a turnover in 23 minutes, starts at power forward for the Aussies alongside Bogut and was matched up against European league veteran Paulius Jankunas to start the game, though Baynes spent much of the game playing center while Bogut was on the bench. When Baynes went undrafted out of Washington State in 2009, he played professionally in 2009-10 in the Lithuanian pro league before spending the next three seasons in three different European leagues before making the jump to the NBA with San Antonio during the 2012-13 season.

Australia finished second to the United States in Group A pool play, winning their four other games impressively.