- The Australian men’s basketball team has been eliminated from the Olympic Games
- They squandered a 24-point lead and lost to Serbia
- It means the end of the road for Patty Mills
Nikola Jokic had the final say as Serbia overcame a 24-point deficit to beat the Boomers 95-90 in overtime to advance to the Olympic semifinals.
Patty Mills played a great final game of the Games as Australia rocketed out of the blocks. The five-time Olympian then scored the decisive goal, sending the quarter-final in Paris into extra time.
But trailing by three points, the reigning NBA MVP took control on Monday with two stops and two buckets to have the final say.
He finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists against the bronze medalists from Tokyo, with Serbia scoring the final eight points of the game.
Mills (26 points) went all out at both ends of the quarter-final, scoring 20 points for the Australians to give them a 22-point lead.
He made seven of nine shots in that series, most of which were difficult pull-up jumpers, as the 35-year-old turned back the clock.
At the height of his run, Mills (18 points) single-handedly defeated Serbia (17) as Australia enjoyed a first-half shooting percentage of 80 percent that seemed too good to be true.
Duo Reath’s three-pointer gave the team a 24-point lead, but Serbia managed to stop the slide and Jokic stepped in. The crowd cheered when Aleksa Avramovic failed, but that only emboldened the Serbs.
Australia have been eliminated from the Olympic Games after losing their quarter-final on Tuesday
Jock Londale is a frustrated figure after seeing the Boomers suffer a defeat
It was a disappointing end to his Boomers career for Patty Mills
Marko Guduric’s three-pointer made it 11 points and amid chants of MVP, Jokic walked to the free-throw line to make it a 12-point lead at halftime.
In the third period they continued, the Boomers lost their ball and Serbia’s other star player, Bogdan Bogdanovic, scored twice in a row.
The lead had suddenly shrunk to four points and Mills slipped on the first play after a timeout. Ognjen Dobric made a three-pointer to make it one point.
Australia’s attack stalled and Bogdanovic put Serbia ahead 61-60 with three minutes left in the final quarter.
Serbia closed the quarter with a 25-11 lead thanks to more free throws from Jokic and a defensive save, giving them a two-point lead, while Australia’s shooting percentage dropped to 55.
Jack McVeigh kept Australia close with seven points in the fourth quarter, before a three-pointer from Giddey tied the score with three minutes left
They scored a tricky floater, but missed another that could have given them the lead in the final 90 seconds.
Nikola Jokic led Serbia to an extra-time victory in Paris on Tuesday
Mills had possession of the ball with 40 seconds left, but his shot hit the back of the rim and bounced out.
Landale then committed a foul on Vasilije Micic with nine seconds left on the clock.
The Serb missed the first but scored the second to put them two points ahead.
Mills picked up a loose ball and hit a tricky goal in the crowd, forcing overtime. The Boomers’ bench begged for a technical foul when the Serbian coach called for a timeout they didn’t get.
McVeigh (13 points) and Josh Giddey (25 points, five rebounds, four assists) hit three triples to put Australia up by three, but Jokic was a wall on defense, stopping consecutive attacks.
He then scored four points in a row. The Australians held their heads as Giddey’s inbound pass, trailing by three points, was intercepted to seal the outcome.
Giddey appeared to hurt his lower leg on the final play of the game and limped off the field as the siren sounded.