Spurs Ex Patty Mills 'Savvy' in Australia Loss vs. Slovenia
OKINAWA, Japan — Australia point guard and former San Antonio Spurs favorite Patty Mills is on the wrong end of a 91-80 loss against Slovenia at the FIBA World Cup.
A clear focus from Australia's defensive game-plan was to blitz pick-and-rolls and to double-team the post when Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic had possession of the ball. The superstar guard accepted the coverage to find open teammates. Slovenia handled it well and led for 19:31 of the first 20 minutes of game play.
Australia trailed by nine points at halftime.
Shortly after the break, Mills used a savvy veteran tactic to keep Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic in foul trouble. As Doncic was getting up the floor on defense, Mills dribbled in front of his path and hit the breaks, causing Doncic to crash into him — recording his fourth foul at the 8:18 mark. He remained in the game despite the circumstances.
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With Doncic on the sideline for the final part of the third quarter, Oklahoma City guard Josh Giddey had begun to take over by attacking the paint for Australia — scoring nine points overall in the period. Slovenia's lead was cut to just 66-62 entering the fourth quarter.
With the help of some timely plays on offense, Slovenia grew its lead back to nine points with Doncic checking back in with seven minutes left in regulation.
Doncic sparked momentum for his team by recording an emphatic block, leading to a 3-pointer on the other end. He recorded a steal that eventually ended with a pull-up 3, which pushed Slovenia to a 15-point lead with 3:37 left in regulation as Australia called timeout.
Australia never managed to rally back, with a step-back 3 by Doncic with just under two minutes left serving as a final message sent by Slovenia to achieve a game-high 19-point lead at that point.
Mills finished the game with 17 points on 5 of 13 shooting and eight rebounds.
Slovenia's next match will come against Germany on Sunday, while Australia will take on Sandro Mamukelashvili's Georgia. However, Australia was eliminated from potential advancement to the quarterfinals.
