Australian basketballer Patty Mills continues to make a serious mark in the NBA – playing himself into the record books and timely form ahead of the Boomers’ Olympic campaign.
Mills posted the highest single-game score by an Australian in the NBA with 34 points in the San Antonio Spurs’ 107-101 win over Golden State Warriors.
Mills surpassed Andrew Bogut’s 32-point haul against Bogut’s new club in the match in Oakland, California on Friday (AEST).
And he continues to make the most of the mid-season NBA lifeline thrown to him a few weeks ago, stepping up as starters Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili were rested ahead of the Spurs’ looming playoff campaign.
“I was very pumped to have this opportunity. I felt very comfortable to just slide in there and take it on with both hands,” Mills told The Associated Press.
It was Mills’ second successive breakout game – backing up from his impressive 27 points against Phoenix the previous night.
Mills had an explosive first half with 18 points.
Then as Golden State paid him closer attention, he turned playmaker – finishing with 12 assists for the match.
Mills is playing under Boomers head coach Brett Brown, who is an assistant at the Spurs, and Brown is thrilled with how his star guard is performing.
With Bogut out of the Olympic Games because of injury, point guard Mills is now set to be Australia’s go-to man in London.
“He took advantage of a unique opportunity where you get extended minutes and … he really did a great job of taking advantage of the situation,” Brown said.
“To be able to put back-to-back games (together) as he did against young guys and athletes is a real credit to him and the Spurs structure.
“He’s really done a fantastic job of fitting in with the team on all levels from a playing perspective, to being a great teammate.
“He’s been a real positive addition to the program.”
Mills is likely to find himself back on the bench when the Spurs play game one of their NBA playoff series against Utah Jazz on Monday.
The Spurs are chasing a fifth NBA title.
Should that happen, Mills would join Luc Longley (Chicago) and Andrew Gaze (San Antonio) as Australian NBA championship winners.
liquorbox_
Guest
what about most rebounds by a guy with no tatts who is also Australian?
Lucan
Mills only got two minutes in game 1 versus Utah with Parker returning. Hopefully Mills can keep his head up and contribute down the playoff stretch. Defence wins titles in the NBA, Patty better be working his ar$e off on the practice court to master this side of his game.
Swampy
Guest
Thankfully we are not counting Kyrie Irving in 'most points by an Australian' anymore. Most points by an Aussie is about as stupid a stat as most rebounds by a guy with no tatts! 34 points by Mills is a noteworthy enough effort without having to coming up with such a meaningless stat. Bring on the Olympics! -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.