Olympics: Aussie Mills hits buzzer-beater to down Russia

Australia's Patrick Mills sank a 3-pointer at the game-ending buzzer Monday to give the Boomers a thrilling 82-80 triumph over previously undefeated Russia at the Olympic men's basketball tournament. The outcome does not change the medal playoff picture for either team, however. The Russians finish 4-1 but will still have a top seed for Wednesday's quarter-finals while the Aussies finish as a fourth seed at 3-2. With Australia clinging to a 79-78 lead, Mills missed a 3-pointer for the Boomers and Victor Khryapa grabbed the rebound for Russia, setting up a drive to the basket on which Vitaliy Fridzon was fouled by Aussie Matt Nielsen. Fridzon sank both free throws with 4.1 seconds remaining and the Russians took an 80-79 lead, only to see Mills launch his shot and watch the ball drop through the hoop as the final horn sounded. David Andersen's jumper gave Australia a 79-73 edge with 3:11 remaining but Andrei Kirilenko answered with two free throws and a 3-point play with 1:49 to go after being fouled on a shot-put style one-handed effort near the hoop. Joe Ingles led Australia with 20 points while Mills and Andersen each added 13 points. Sasha Kaun led Russia with 18 points while Kirilenko and Alexey Shved each added 13 and all three grabbed six rebounds. Anton Ponkrashov's 3-pointer capped an 8-0 run to give the Russians their largest lead at 57-52, but the Aussies answered with a 17-7 run to close the third quarter, taking a 69-64 edge into the fourth quarter. Australia seized their largest lead at 29-20 after the first period but the Russians equalised with a 12-3 run to open the second quarter, Semen Antonov scoring five to lead the spurt, and the Boomers only led 46-45 at half-time.