How the Boomers blew a 24 point lead to end their Paris Olympic campaign in a heartbreaking overtime loss to Serbia

Twice up by 24 points against a stacked Serbian team with triple NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and an array of quality shooters around him, the Australians couldn’t crush their rival.

It was the Olympic meltdown of epic proportions.

It cost Patty Mills the final shot at the gold medal that has eluded him for so long. And some will argue it was a choke that should never have occurred when Australia had its foot on Serbia’s throat.

Twice up by 24 points against a stacked Serbian team with triple NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and an array of quality shooters around him, the Australians couldn’t crush their rival.

In a tournament of fine margins, Australia might have believed it was headed for a blowout win.

The Boomers led 44-20 with 6.52 remaining in the second quarter, and 46-22 after Josh Giddey’s turnaround jumper with 6.26 on the clock.

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Matthew Dellavedova after the Boomers lose to Serbia. Picture: Adam Head

Up three points in overtime, they let slip that chance again with another turnover. How the hell did they lose from there in what was the biggest ever comeback in Olympic history?

In truth, by a trio of circumstances.

The first was a hail of third-quarter turnovers that coach Brian Goorjian said were a by-product of playing an aggressive, up-tempo full court game designed to take Jokic out of the game.

In the third quarter, Australia coughed up nine of their 20 total turnovers as their lead was overcome with 3.48 remaining in the third term.

Is this the last game that Patty Mills has played for Australia? Picture: Aris Messinis / AFP

“We stayed in the battle. We got the ball in the right players hands. I just thought when it came to the crunch, turnovers were an issue in the whole tournament,” Goorjian said. “A lot of times with the pace of the play, we didn’t want to play them in the half court.

“It got us there, but in crunch time we turned it over too many times.”

For all of Giddey’s undoubted brilliance he had seven turnovers and could not get the ball to Mills for the game’s last shot from an inbounds pass with Australia three points down in overtime.

“We got out to a big lead, we just had to hold on,” a shattered Giddey said.

“We knew they were going to come back and make runs. I don’t think we weathered the storm good enough.”

Serbia's 24-point comeback goes in the record books as the biggest ever in #Olympics history. 😳#Paris2024 x #Basketballpic.twitter.com/s3GysywvtB

— FIBA (@FIBA) August 6, 2024

The second concern was a total reliance on Mills to create when Australia got into a half-court offence.

FIBA Patty is a sight to behold.

But playing hero ball where Mills is the only offensive weapon throwing up ridiculous contested jump shots is not the way to win a tournament.

Goorjian admitted the veteran guard was the single player on this team able to create from half-court offence in a world game stacked with shooters trying to replicate Steph Curry’s gifts.

The Boomers after their loss to Serbia..: Adam Head

Australia nailed an astonishing 20 of 25 shots in that rampaging first quarter then went 17 for 49 for the rest of the game. Dyson Daniels and Matt Dellavedova went zero from two, Jock Landale was two from six, Will Magnay and one from three and NBL star Jack McVeigh (13 points, five from eight) and Dante Exum (12 points, four from seven) were the only options to the basket.

The third and most decisive concern late was the genius of Jokic.

Only an hour later French prodigy Victor Wembenyama took to the court for France as the sport’s great emerging weapon. Pudgy, wily old-school Jokic is different, but after 11 points at halftime he took over the game before finishing with 21 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists.

In a game so close — the decisive stat was the second chance points.

Serbia won that battle 23-11, which ultimately paved the way for them to end the Boomers’ Paris Olympic campaign.

Originally published as How the Boomers blew a 24 point lead to end their Paris Olympic campaign in a heartbreaking overtime loss to Serbia