A flagbearer off the court, Patty Mills remains the carrier on it, draining a three-pointer as time expired to secure Australia a thrilling 87-84 win over Argentina to open their Tokyo Olympics warm-up campaign.
With scores tied and just 2.5 seconds left, Mills inbounded the ball and got it straight back from teammate Jock Landale, the San Antonio guard rising up to nail the long bomb in the face of two defenders.
It capped a thrilling game which went back and forth, on the same court Nigeria stunned the US just hours earlier in the four-team invitational in Las Vegas.
The Boomers fell behind by 11 points midway through the second period against an Argentine side paced by 41-year-old former NBA journeyman Luis Scola’s game-high 25 points, but held their own double-digit lead midway through the third period.
Mills finished with a team-high 17 points on four of nine shooting from behind the three-point arc, Joe Ingles found his range late to finish with 16 points, while Matisse Thybulle’s Boomers debut could not have been more impressive.
The Philadelphia 76ers guard lived up to his billing as a defensive standout with three blocks and four steals, but his play at the offensive end was a nice addition to the Boomers side as he poured in 15 points.
But it was Mills, just days after being announced as one of two flagbearers alongside Cate Campbell for the Australian team at the Tokyo Games, who reminded everyone that he remains the heartbeat of the Boomers side.
“To be able to play these tight games and tight situations is going to bring us even more together,” Mills said of his late clutch play.
“Just being able to get my hand on the ball, get comfortable with it, get a lot of legs, rise up and whatever happens after that happens.”
What happened was nothing but net, and while thrilled to start his second tenure as Boomers coach with a win, Brian Goorjian was more satisfied with the progress of a team that has had only three days together to learn a new system.
“To play a team of Argentina’s quality and be competitive like that … having the captain hit that shot to win just makes the process more fun,” Goorjian said.
“Winning never hurts. It doesn’t mean anything at this moment, but that side of it was in addition to the experience tonight.”
The Boomers will next play the US on Tuesday morning (AEST). The US are coming off a shock 3-point loss to Nigeria.
AAP
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