FanShot

Australia beat Croatia as Mills drops 22

9

Boomers down Croatia 78-66 with MIlls contributing 22 points , 3 assists from 7/15 shooting. From the herald sun AUSTRALIA'S Boomers have beaten European powerhouse Croatia 78-66 at the London International Basketball Invitational. NBA point guard Patty Mills was again impressive, top-scoring for the game with 22 points. Brad Newley and Matthew Dellavedova were both solid for the Boomers, finishing with 11 points each. For Croatia, Luka Zoric had 18 points, while big man Ante Tomic added 15 at the London Olympics test event. After trailing by five points at the first break, the Aussies put together a dominant second term and had a 12-point lead going into half time. "Again it was a great defensive effort to keep Croatia to 66 for the game, and in periods through the second half, we were able to get back on track through our defence," said head coach Brett Brown. "We're never going to be a high-powered offensive team. We've hung our hat on being able to guard teams. You know, we're getting up and down and trying to get the ball to the right people, were doing all of that, but weve really placed a lot of emphasis on defending." Battling Boomers pip China The Australian, 4 Aug 2011 The Boomers now have a rest day before playing Serbia on Saturday as they continue preparation for the Oceania Olympic qualificiation tournament.