Patty’s perfect response to brutal Bogut calls

by Admin
July 16, 2024

Patty Mills responded to calls to be benched in perfect fashion in the Boomers’ pre-Olympic warm-up game against Serbia, scoring a game high 28 points to lead the Aussies to an 84-73 victory over the Nikola Jokic led side in Abu Dhabi.

Uncharacteristic performances against the US and China in the opening two warm up games led to former Boomers teammate Andrew Bogut to call for Mills’ benching, saying the Aussies needed more of an attacking spark.

But Mills, 35, who is set to play in his fifth Olympic Games, came out on a mission, going 7-for-13 from the floor, hitting four 3-pointers, while dishing up five assists and claiming two steals.

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Mills went 2-for-8 from the field in the defeat to the US but that player was nowhere to be seen against Serbia.

Patty Mills showed up in a big way. Getty

To start the game, the veteran guard scored 13 points and had three assists in just 14 minutes of playing time.

Australia led 20-15 after the end of the first half, but Serbia fought back in the second quarter and led 40-39 at half time.

But when it mattered most, Mills stepped up in a big way.

In arguably the most telling passage of the game, with Serbia leading 67-66, Mills checked into the game with six minutes to go and provided the the spark that was sorely needed, scoring six points to go with two rebounds, an assist and a steal to give the Aussies that extra push down the stretch.

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Dante Exum added 15 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, while Josh Giddey made a significant contribution in the second half with 13 points and 6 rebounds.

Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds in 28 minutes of playing time.

Filip Petrusev added 14 points, and Aleksa Aramovic and Nikola Milutinov chipped in with 12 points each for Serbia.

The Boomers will play Puerto Rico on Friday and France on Sunday.