Patty Mills produces one of the great halves of Aussie basketball to lift Boomers to incredible win

Australia was in the game at half-time but local fans had their doubts. As Mick Randall rates every Boomers star, he says one man might have produced the greatest half of international basketball we’ve seen. Plus the five things we learnt.

Matthew Dellavedova isn’t firing ... yet. Pic: Getty Images

It was a day when history was made.

The Boomers warmed up for the upcoming World Cup in style by inflicting the USA’s second defeat in just 13 years.

Herald Sun reporter MICK RANDALL rated every player who helped the Aussies bring down the best team in world basketball.

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Patty Mills played the perfect game for the Boomers. Pic: AAP

Patty Mills — 10

Might just be the best half of international basketball ever produced by a Boomers player. Mills scored 23 points after the long break, including 10 in the last three minutes to take the game away from Team USA. A national hero, if he wasn’t already.

Jock Landale — 7

All out aggression from the first tip. Landale crashed the boards and provided plenty of muscle against the Team USA bigs. Faded in the second half but the Boomers are on a winner with this kid.

Chris Goulding — 5

Not sure why coach Andrej Lemanis didn’t ride the hot hand. Hardly saw the floor in the first half. But came on and provided strong minutes after the break.

Chris Goulding provided spark off the bench. Pic: Getty Images

Nathan Sobey — N/A

Did not play

Cam Gliddon — 1

Only played four minutes and didn’t score.

Mitch Creek — 4

Two points and two boards in 10 minutes. Did his job.

Nick Kay — 5

Some thought I was a bit harsh on Kay after his game 1 donut, so will give him his due. Bounced back with a vengeance with seven points on perfect shooting to go with three boards and a block, leading to a game-high +18. Played the most minutes off the bench of any Boomer.

Aron Baynes — 8

Do the Aussies have their own big three? Baynes, Bogut and Landale all had superb games. Hit from deep again to show he will be a threat, hit the glass and just looked scary. These Aussies won’t be intimidated.

Aron Baynes was part of the Boomers’ big impact. Picture: Mark Stewart

Andrew Bogut and his son celebrate the win. Picture: Mark Stewart

Andrew Bogut — 9

The perfect big man performance off the bench. Hit the glass, dropped dimes, and scored 16 points in an offensive explosion. Is still a force at 34 and has plenty of gas left in the tank.

Joe Ingles — 8

Had a stinker in game 1, so the only way was up. The Jazz star hit back — hard. He set the table in a sublime first half with five assists to go with eight points. And finished it off with a clutch late bucket. The heart and soul of the Boomers.

Matthew Dellavedova — 4

Just doesn’t appear to be himself. Went 0-5 from the field and everything looked hard. By all reports is as fit as ever but needs to turn it around before the Worlds. Still handed out five dimes and, if he can fire with Mills and the big guys do what they did against the US, a medal is there for the taking.

David Barlow (inactive) — N/A. After being inactive for Game 1, Barlow played just 30 seconds on court.

Big day in Basketball for this Country🇦🇺🇦🇺. Well done to the people involved having the 🏀🏀 to organize playing a bball game in a football stadium. Can’t make everyone smile all the time, but I hope today was a day where most did.

— Andrew Bogut (@andrewbogut) August 24, 2019

FIVE THINGS WE LEARNT — By Greg Davis

1. Disregard the social media sooking from the ill-informed vocal minority about the view from the floor seats or the US team withdrawals, this series was a red-letter day for basketball in Australia. More than 103,000 people paid to watch two games of basketball in Melbourne. That’s huge for the sport. The result didn’t hurt either.

2. The Boomers have improved dramatically with every practice game. The ball movement, player movement off the ball, shot selection, rebounding and defensive intensity have lifted significantly. World Cup medals are harder to win than the Olympic variety because there’s more quality teams but if Australia can keep improving, they are in the hunt.

3. Patty Mills is the heart and soul of this Boomers outfit. He is the spiritual leader and guardian of the Boomers culture off the court and the go-to man on the court. His brilliant last quarter scoring blitz had Marvel Stadium pumping. Nobody was demanding a refund then, were they?

4. Andrew Bogut will be a huge weapon off the bench at the World Cup in China. The big fella is such a good passer, rim protector, rebounder and finisher around the bucket. His experience is invaluable as well. It’s a luxury for the Boomers to have two NBA centres to rotate.

5. Jock Landale has been the find of the campaign thus far. Young, long, athletic, aggressive and skilful. He’ll be a Boomer for a long time and it’s a matter of when — not if — he plays in the NBA. Will need help at power forward following the disappointing exit of Jonah Bolden.