Aussies in NBA: Mills scores 16 in 16

Patty Mills' late game heroics weren't needed against Brooklyn. However that didn't stop him from having an impact on the game.

The Australian guard came off the bench for an explosive 16 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals in just 16 minutes of play. His performance helped lead San Antonio to a huge 130-101 over the Nets.

Mills' passing skill and vision was on show early. In the first quarter he found big men LaMarcus Aldridge and Dewayne Dedmon on seperate occasions. Both assists coming out of the pick roll/pop.

It didn't stop there either, with Patty connecting with an alley-oop pass to up-and-coming high flyer Jonathon Simmons on the first play of the second half.

https://twitter.com/DefPenHoops/status/807773163740418049

Mills has begun to make a habit of exploding at some point in the second half. The Aussie certainly didn't disappoint in this one.

He was bought on to replace Tony Parker with less than 6 minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Spurs crowd then got to witness Patty at his best. He nailed 11 of his 16 points in the last 4 minutes of the quarter and made sure Brooklyn had no chance of getting back into the game.

https://twitter.com/spurs/status/807789490739679233

It's been a career year so far for Patty Mills. He is averaging more minutes than he ever has before, and has already started more regular season games than any year previous. He also continues to flirt with the 50/40/90 shooting stat line (stats).

Mills sits 14th in the 3-point shooting percentage, fellow Aussie Joe Ingles claims top spot. However Patty is still without doubt the leading Australian in the NBA, in fact he is the only one averaging more than 10 points per game (without including Kyrie Irving).

Full highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gfClAzVXz8