Stunning Patty Mills performance seals historic bronze medal for Boomers

An incredible performance form Patty Mills has led Australia to a historic bronze medal after a thrilling win over Slovenia on Saturday night.

Patty Mills was leading the charge.

Patty Mills cemented his status as a national treasure by leading Australia to its first ever Olympic medal in a thrilling 107-93 win over Slovenia on Saturday night.

Chosen to carry the flag alongside Cate Campbell at the opening ceremony of his fourth Games, Mills’ standing in Australian sport was already well established. But he added the most important chapter to his legacy by breaking the Boomers’ 65-year drought in Tokyo.

The Aussie men’s team has been trying to win a medal since the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. Four times they’ve played off for bronze and each time they’ve fallen short.

Most recently in Rio five years ago, the Boomers were up with less than 10 seconds remaining but ended up swallowing the bitter pill of a one-point defeat to Spain. Mills wasn’t going to let that happen again this time.

A loss to Team USA knocked Australia out of gold medal contention but it still had everything to fight for in its bronze medal playoff against Slovenia. Mills, who struggled massively against the Americans and the defensive pressure of Jrue Holiday, did it all on his own to drag the Boomers onto the podium in Japan, finishing with 42 points and moving into seventh on the list of all-time leading international scorers at the Olympics.

Patty Mills was a man on a mission.

The man himself shared emotional moments with his teammates, hugging fellow veteran Joe Ingles after full-time. Mills also broke down in tears when receiving his precious bling on the podium.

Mills also had an emotional message for Australia after the historic win.

“We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. And it’s taken a lot of experiences, a lot of ups, a lot of downs, for us to get over the hump,” Mills told Channel 7. “And it’s our culture, at the end of the day, Australian culture, our Aussie spirit.

“It’s the boys being able to hang together and understand the meaning of what it means to represent your country, and how deep the layers go. For it to just come pouring out in moments like this (is great).

“I don’t know whether to cry, laugh, smile, a lot of emotions.

“It’s time to bring an Olympic medal home, back to our country, Australia, so I can hang it up at mum and dad’s house.”

There were incredible scenes in Tokyo. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Mills was overcome with emotion. Pic: Adam Head.

In the first half alone Mills poured in 26 points – more than twice as many as his next best teammate Matisse Thybulle, who had 11. The NBA veteran drained four three-pointers across the first two quarters and went 8-18 from the field, to go with four assists and a steal.

It was clear from the outset the Aussies’ plan was to make life as uncomfortable as possible for Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic. Thybulle has been a defensive beast at these Olympics and started for the first all tournament to mark up against the opposition’s best player, while Dante Exum and Matthew Dellavedova also took responsibility for shutting down the Dallas Mavericks gun.

Doncic had nine points in the first half and looked chippy at times in the face of Australia’s aggressive, physical approach.

“He’s been grumpy. Hands are going all over the place. There’s lots of chitchat with the officials and the bench,” Aussie basketball legend Andrew Gaze said in commentary for Channel 7 late in the third quarter.

“Does not look in a great frame of mind right now. You have to capitalise on it.”

Andrew Bogut called out Doncic for being a defensive liability.

“As great as Luka is he has been a traffic cone out here defensively. We’re headhunting him every time at the offensive end,” Bogut told Seven.

Mills was on target from all over the court. Pic: Adam Head

But Slovenia wouldn’t go away. Its bench roared with more passion than we’d seen all game in the fourth quarter as it closed the gap to six points with Mills off the floor. Crucial baskets from Ingles and Exum gave the Boomers some breathing room and took the pressure off Mills to do all the scoreboard damage.

Whenever the Aussies looked like stretching ahead, clutch Doncic three-pointers ensured Slovenia remained within touching distance. But there would be no broken hearts Down Under this time around as the Boomers kept their composure – and the lead – to close out a 14-point thriller.

The result is one that Australian basketball will treasure for some time to come.

Aussie legend Andrew Gaze put it best, admitting to plenty of tears after the win.

“Gee whiz, that man on your screen (Patty Mills), boy oh boy, did he come out with something special for his nation today,” Gaze told Channel 7.

“There’s a lot of people along the way that have got their fingerprints on this historic moment. Congratulations to those that are on the floor and had the privilege to be out there like (coach) Brian Goorjian.

“We’ve all been in that situation before and (know) how badly we want it and how much it means to the basketball community and the Australian community. This country expects greatness. We over-achieve, put our blood, sweat and tears into this for providing for the sport, inspiring youngsters, wanting the game to grow. Our Opals have done it for many years. Now to see our men’s team do it, just an historical moment.”

With AFP