Australia showed it can do damage by ending the Americans' 78-game winning streak in a warm-up game just over a week ago.
On Tuesday in Group H, the Boomers defeated Senegal 81-68 in Dongguan in the far south of China to improve to 2-0 and qualify for the second round. Senegal is 0-2.
Patty Mills of the San Antonio Spurs led Australia with 22 points, but Joe Ingles of the Utah Jazz was the game's top player with 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Ingles was one assist away from a triple-double, which a FIBA official told him would have been a first in the World Cup.