Patty Mills led all scorers with 26 points, dropping 20 of those in a first half that was reminiscent of Patty at previous Olympic tournaments, but Serbia managed to take control of overtime 13-8.

The loss was heartbreaking for the Boomers who had hoped to emulate or better their bronze-medal performance from the Tokyo Games.

“We threw everything at them,” Patty said. “It just wasn’t our day. They played a hell of a game.

“Individuals, world class teams, world class coaches; this is why you play international basketball. It's a different sport than any other league around the world.

“It brings the best out of everyone. I think for us, we just threw everything we could, and maybe (there was) not enough in the tank at the end of the day, but I think full credit to what Serbia was able to do, get us out of our comfort zone.”

The five-time Olympian forced overtime and with the Boomers trailing by two and only nine seconds left on the clock, Australian coach Brian Goorjian put the ball in Patty’s hands.

One-on-one with NBA champion Nikola Jokic, Patty nailed a tough fadeaway while falling to the ground to level the scores with 1.4 seconds left in regulation. 

If they were to be Patty’s last points at an Olympic Games, it was an impressive way to bow out.

“These are the moments you want to be in,” Patty said.

“You live for those moments as a little kid in the backyard underneath the clothesline in Australia. 

“You know, you imagine yourself…being able to hit a big shot at the Olympic Games, force it into overtime. 

“At the end of the day, it wasn't our day, but we can keep our heads high because we stayed connected.” 

Jokic was the star of Serbia’s comeback and made big plays down the stretch, finishing with 21 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists.

Jack McVeigh had some big moments for Australia, scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Australia was leading in overtime by one point with 1:49 to play and Patty had a layup hanging on the rim that was going to drop in. 

Jokic was able to knock it away to save the two points and he took the lead for good on a hook shot at 91-90.

“We gave ourselves a chance to win,” Goorjian said. 

“The first 16 minutes of that first half was as good as basketball as we’ve played.

“I thought we were in positions both at the end of regulation and overtime to win the game and just spit the ball up.

“It's heartbreaking. What we talked about was playing the game in a certain manner to make Australia proud.”

There was hardly any separation between Australia and Serbia for the first eight minutes of the game, as the Boomers found themselves up 19-17. 

That’s when the Aussies unleashed 20-straight points in a four-and-a-half-minute stretch.

Pace was key to the outburst as the Boomers at one stage outscored Serbia 13-0 on fastbreaks.

The Serbians cut Australia’s 24-point lead in half by the main break, and they held a two-point lead going into the fourth quarter as turnovers began mounting up for the Boomers.

The fourth quarter was tight, where most of the 10-lead changes occurred.

Josh Giddey tied the game with three minutes to go on an open three-pointer, on his way to 25 points, when his teammates passed up what would have been good shots for a great shot.

In crunch time, Josh showed he was a Boomers star of the future, making a one-legged shot from the midrange and drilling a three-pointer, punishing Jokic for leaving him open.

With the dust settling post-game, he’s already got a run at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics on his mind.

"It obviously hurts now, but it's going to help in the long run,” Josh said.

“We've got a lot of young guys coming through and we've got the right guys within this locker room to go further than this."

Jeff Dickinson-Fox