Turning point

The Boomers started the game in sixth gear, storming to an early double digit lead, and hitting 19 of their first 24 shot attempts in the first half. By the time Serbia realized what’s going on, it was already a 44-20 lead for Australia.

Patty Mills dominated with his shot making, getting 20 first half points, while Josh Giddey had no issues in running the plays.

Coach Svetislav Pesic made an adjustment in the second quarter, going big with Nikola Jokic and Nikola Milutinov together in the lineup, while Aleksa Avramovic managed to slow Mills down just enough for Serbia to make it back to 54-42 at the break.

And it turned out Avramovic’s defense from the point they were down by 24 unlocked everything else for Serbia, including chants of “Srbija! Srbija!” from the Bercy stands.

His never-say-die mentality provoked three Australian turnovers early in the third, while Ognjen Dobric and Bogdan Bogdanovic made three straight triples to not only cut the gap, but give Serbia a 67-65 lead ahead of the final stanza.

Teams kept trading blows, Australia did not give up even when Serbia opened up a six-point lead in the fourth, and after both teams missed multiple chances to end the game in regulation, coach Brian Goorjian dialed Patty Mills’s number with nine second to play.

The legendary guard delivered, his trademark pullup two-pointer over Jokic went in with a second to play, and with Serbia out of timeouts, it meant the game went to overtime.

It went back and forth then, too. Nikola Jokic had a big steal on Mills, then made a layup for the lead, picked up the defensive board, and hit his Sombor shuffle turnaround shot to make it 93-90 Serbia with 25.1 left in OT.

Australia turned it over on the out of bounds play, allowing Bogdan Bogdanovic iced the game from the free throw line.

Game hero

It should be coach Svetislav Pesic, really. The soon-to-be 75-year-old treats all the players like his kids, but at 44-20, he had a timeout which was not suitable for minors.

His harsh words woke the team up and he ended up with six men in double digits, led by Nikola Jokic’s 21 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists. It reality, he was the biggest hero of this epic game, with all due respect to coach Pesic.

Stats don’t lie

Serbia were much more aggressive around the rim, and picked up 16 offensive rebounds, leading up to a 24-11 advantage in second chance points.

Bottom line

What a game that was! We’re still checking the numbers, but if that wasn’t the biggest Olympic comeback of all time, it’s surely up among the biggest ones.

Serbia will now take on the United States or Brazil in the Semis, and will need another scoring night like this one – Jokic 21, Bogdanovic 17, Micic 14, Guduric 11, Avramovic 10, with Petrusev also contributing, getting 9 points.

As for Australia, they had it all, but could not hold on. Patty Mills finished with 26, Giddey was a point behind, but their run of consecutive Olympic Semi-Finals stops at two.

*Stay tuned for quotes and quick notes*

FIBA