Hopes were high for the Aussies against the gold-medal favourites, who'd shown signs of mortality heading in, but they were ultimately outclassed in going down by 19 points.

It was tough to swallow having led by 15 midway through the second quarter, but the blowout nature of the loss allowed coach Brian Goorjian to rest key legs in fourth-quarter junk time.

It also allowed the Boomers to quickly turn their attention to the bronze-medal playoff before the final buzzer, a luxury not afforded to Slovenia who suffered a heart-breaking 90-89 defeat to France later on Thursday.

NBA star Luka Doncic, who had just the third triple-double in Olympic history, came out of the game nursing a wrist injured by a collision with court-side plexiglass.

Read more: Boomers squander lead and gold-medal chances in heavy defeat to USA

It limited his shooting capabilities but he looked to have made the right call in putting teammate Klemen Prepelic into an open driving lane in the final play of the game.

French captain Nicolas Batum instead produced a game-winning block to book his team's spot in the gold-medal match.

With less time to recover before the third-place playoff, Slovenia were also left fuming over a number of refereeing calls they felt went against them.

The heartbreak left coach Aleksander Sekulic unable to immediately turn his attention to the Boomers in the aftermath, telling reporters: "I don't want to talk about Australia right now."

Doncic would have had his stunning 19^th assist had Prepelic made the lay-up, with the 22-year-old Dallas Mavericks star expressing no regret over the decision to pass.

"I think Batum was helping [on me] so I had to pass," Doncic said.

"I think [Prepelic] was open and it was a great drive, but Batum had an amazing block. I think it was a good choice [to pass].

"Not always you can make a smart choice but I trust them, they trust me and I thought that was a good choice.

"I'm used to every defence now, every game is different. My shots weren't falling today so I was trying to find open teammates."

Doncic also told reporters his wrist was "OK" post-game but Aussie fans will be hoping it at least limits one of the sport's truly immense talents.

A top-four finish is a remarkable achievement for a nation of two million people, though they'll be desperate to come away with the nation's first Olympic medal.

Australia have the same desire to finally get on the podium and move past the fourth-place finish they've achieved on four different occasions - including the Rio Games five years ago.

Defensive whiz Mattise Thybulle insisted the Boomers drive to medal in Tokyo had not waned in the aftermath to their semi-final loss.

"A medal's still what we came here to do, even though it's not going to be gold or silver," Thybulle said.

"Bronze is going to be the first ever for Australia so that's still a really big deal for us and we still have a lot to fight for."