Nikola Jokic had the last laugh as Serbia rallied from a 24-point deficit to beat the Boomers 95-90 in overtime and book an Olympic semifinal.
In his final appearance at the Games, Patty Mills was immense as Australia stormed off the court, the five-time Olympian scoring a key basket to send their quarterfinal game in Paris into overtime.
But, trailing by three points, the reigning NBA MVP took control with two stops and two baskets to have the final say on Monday.
He finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists against the Tokyo bronze medalists, with Serbia scoring the final eight points of the game.
Mills (26 points) went wild on both sides of the fourth quarter in a 20-point run by the Aussies that put them up 22.
During that stretch, he made seven of nine shots, most of them difficult jumpers, as the 35-year-old turned back the clock.
At a career high, Mills (18 points) was single-handedly beating Serbia (17), with Australia shooting 80 percent in a first half that seemed too good to be true.
Duop Reath’s three-pointer pushed the lead to 24 points before Serbia stopped the run and Jokic got involved; the boos from the crowd when Aleksa Avramovic missed only encouraged them.
Australia is out of the Olympics after losing the quarter-finals on Tuesday
Jock Londonale is frustrated after seeing the Boomers defeated
It was a disappointing end to Patty Mills’ Boomers career.
Marko Guduric’s three-pointer made it 11 points and, amid MVP chants, Jokic went to the line to make it 12 points at halftime.
In the third quarter they continued to advance, the turnovers finished off the Boomers and Serbia’s other star, Bogdan Bogdanovic, caught fire with two consecutive baskets.
The lead had suddenly evaporated to four and Mills slipped on the first play after a timeout, Ognjen Dobric’s three-pointer tied the game at one.
Australia’s offense stalled and Bogdanovic put Serbia ahead 61-60 with three minutes left in the quarter.
Serbia closed out a 25-11 quarter with more free throws from Jokic and a defensive stop to lead by two, while Australia’s shooting percentage fell to 55.
Jack McVeigh kept Australia close with seven points in the fourth quarter before Giddey’s corner three-pointer tied the game with three minutes remaining.
He hit a powerful floater and then missed another that would have put them ahead in the final 90 seconds.
Nikola Jokic led Serbia to an overtime victory in Paris on Tuesday
Mills then had possession with 40 seconds to play, but his shot hit the back of the rim and bounced out.
Landale then fouled Vasilije Micic with nine seconds left on the clock.
The Serbian missed the first but got the second right to go two ahead.
Mills recovered a loose ball to hit a tough shot in traffic and send the game into overtime; the Boomers bench called for a technical foul when the Serbian coach called a timeout they didn’t have.
Three-pointers from McVeigh (13 points) and Josh Giddey (25 points, five rebounds, four assists) gave Australia a three-point lead, but Jokic was a wall on defense, stopping successive possessions.
He then scored four consecutive points, and the Australians hung their heads when, trailing by three points, Giddey’s inbound pass was intercepted to seal the result.
Giddey then appeared to injure his lower leg on the game’s final play and limped off the field as the siren sounded.