Patty Mills explodes for 42 points as Australia clinches men’s basketball bronze vs Slovenia

NBA player Patty Mills exploded for 42 points and nine assists as he led Australia past Slovenia, 107-93, to clinch the bronze medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic men’s basketball tournament on Saturday at the Saitama Super Arena.

Mills was given the license to shoot as he took 31 field goal attempts. He did not disappoint, hitting 11-for-16 from two-point range and 8-for-10 from the free throw line in a huge performance for the Boomers. He also hit four three-pointers in the game, though he shot just 27% from beyond the arc.

Joe Ingles added 16 points, and like Mills, knocked down four triples. Jock Landale added 14 points. Dante Exum (12 points) and Matisse Thybulle (11 points) also finished in double figures for Australia, combining to shoot 9-for-11 from the field.

Luka Doncic led Slovenia with team-highs of 22 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in the loss. He also turned the ball over eight times.

Australia took control of the game in the second period after Mills scored 10 points in a 14-2 run that turned a two-point Slovenia lead, 33-31, into a 45-35 advantage for Australia. Mills scored a total of 16 points in the second quarter alone as his team entered the half leading, 53-45.

They were able to maintain that lead in the third period but had to fight off Slovenia in the fourth after they rallied for an 8-0 run that brought them back to within six points, 81-75.

Doncic would later get them even closer, finishing on a layup that made it a three-point game, 83-80. The Dallas Mavericks star tried his best to keep his team in it, hitting two triples while Australia’s Exum, Mills, and Ingles knocked down shot after shot.

The Boomers would eventually rattle off 10 unanswered points to make it a 102-86 lead with just 2:19 remaining.

—JMB, GMA News