On the evening of August 6, the Olympic men’s basketball quarterfinals continued with a match between Serbia and Australia.
The first quarter began with Dobric making a drifting shot, followed by Petrushev’s jump shot, giving Serbia an early 4-0 lead. Mills then scored with a driving layup, and Giddey added four points with a pull-up shot, leading to a 6-0 run for Australia to overtake Serbia. Bogdanovic soon hit a three-point jump shot, Giddey scored with a driving layup, and Petrushev made one of two free throws, bringing the score to 8-8. Randall then made a jump shot, Exum scored with a layup, and Australia called a timeout. After the break, Bogdanovic hit a three-point jump shot, McGee scored with a putback, Jokic made a shot, and Giddey followed with a fadeaway shot. Jokic continued to score with a layup, leaving Serbia trailing 15-16. The teams were closely matched, but in the final stages of the quarter, McVeigh hit a three-point jump shot, Jokic scored with a layup, and Exum made a turnaround jump shot. Mills then scored eight consecutive points, including two three-pointers, and made both free throws, ending the first quarter with Australia leading 31-17, a 14-point advantage over Serbia.
In the second quarter, Mills continued scoring with back-to-back jump shots, and Rees dunked, prompting a 6-0 start for Australia that forced a Serbian timeout. Returning from the break, Mills continued to make his jump shots, outscoring Serbia’s entire team individually. Misic then stopped the bleeding with a three-point pull-up shot, Landale dunked, and Rees hit a three-point jump shot, extending Australia’s lead to 44-20, a 24-point margin. Avramovic then scored with a driving layup, Giddey made a turnaround jump shot, and Jokic scored with a drifting shot. Avramovic made both free throws, maintaining a 20-point difference. In the latter half of the quarter, Jokic scored with a layup, Milutinov dunked, Mills continued to make his fadeaway shot, Godoric scored with a layup, and Avramovic did the same. Godoric hit a step-back three-point jump shot, Giddey responded with a three-pointer, Exum scored with a driving layup, and Godoric made a drifting shot. Jokic made one of two free throws, and Godoric scored with a layup, ending the second quarter with Australia leading 54-42, a 12-point advantage over Serbia.
In the third quarter, Petrushev scored with a layup, Mills made a driving layup, Avramovic scored with a layup, and Giddey also scored with a layup. Avramovic continued to score, and Dobric hit a three-point shot from the top of the arc, reducing Serbia’s deficit to 51-58, a seven-point difference. Mills then made a fadeaway shot, and Bogdanovic scored five consecutive points with inside drives and outside shooting, initiating Serbia’s comeback. With a four-point difference, Australia called a timeout. Returning from the break, Dobric hit a three-point jump shot, narrowing the gap to just one point. Bogdanovic then made another fadeaway shot, and Serbia took the lead at 61-60. Exum then made both free throws, Jokic scored with a jump shot, and Giddey made a pull-up shot. Jokic scored with a putback, and Exum made one of two free throws. In the final minute of the quarter, after Jokic made both free throws, neither team scored again, concluding the third quarter with Serbia leading 67-65, a two-point advantage over Australia.
In the decisive fourth quarter, Petrushev scored with a turnaround hook shot, McVeigh scored with a putback, Godoric scored with a layup, and Misic scored with a driving layup, extending Serbia’s lead to six points with a 6-2 run. McVeigh then scored with a layup, and Exum completed a fast break, allowing Australia to narrow the gap by four points, prompting a Serbian timeout. Returning from the break, Landale made one of two free throws. Misic then made a difficult three-point shot, and McVeigh hit an open three-pointer, leaving Australia trailing Serbia 75-76. After Misic scored two points, Giddey tied the game with a three-pointer. Misic was fouled and made all three free throws, and Giddey scored with a floater. Mills missed his shot, and Jokic secured the defensive rebound. Giddey committed a foul, and Serbia took control. Misic was fouled on a shot under the basket and made one of two free throws. Serbia led by two points, and Mills tied the game with a clutch jump shot. Bogdanovic missed a three-point buzzer beater, sending the game into overtime.
In overtime, Dobric and McVeigh hit consecutive three-pointers, and the teams played intensely. After Giddey hit a three-pointer, Petrushev made both free throws. Jokic scored with a turnaround hook shot to take the lead, and McVeigh missed his jump shot. Jokic then made a high-difficulty one-legged shot, giving Serbia a three-point lead. Australia made a turnover on their inbound play, and Bogdanovic sealed the victory with two free throws.
Ultimately, Serbia defeated Australia 95-90.
Player statistics:
Serbia: Jokic 21 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals; Bogdanovic 17 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists; Misic 14 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal; Godoric 11 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals; Dobric 11 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal; Avramovic 10 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal; Petrushev 9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals; Milutinov 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal;
Australia: Mills 26 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals; Giddey 25 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists; McVeigh 13 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists; Exum 12 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists; Rees 7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal; Landale 5 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal; McGee 2 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals; Dellavedova 3 rebounds; Kay 2 rebounds, 1 steal; Daniels 1 rebound, 1 assist, 4 steals;
Starting lineups:
Serbia: Jokic, Avramovic, Bogdanovic, Dobric, Petrushev
Australia: Mills, Giddey, Landale, Daniels, Kay
