Aussies in NBA: Delly and Patty tussle in heavyweight clash
Matthew Dellavedova and Patty Mills had an entertaining battle during the San Antonio Spurs 99-95 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The two Boomers teammates and St Mary's alums didn't hold back one bit in their match-up, creating a physical contest that provided a fun sideshow to the main event.
We got an Aussie death match! Mills vs Delly!
— Patrick Fenelon (@Patrick_Fenelon) January 15, 2016
At the finish Delly posted 5 points (2-of-8 shooting, 1-of-4 from 3-point), 3 assists and 2 rebounds in 20 minutes.
Mills had 6 points (2-of-4 shooting, 2-of-2 from 3-point), 2 assists, 1 rebound in 13 minutes.
With the Spurs overrunning the Cavs in the second half, the play of the Aussies mirrored the fortunes of their respective teams. With Delly doing his best work early and Mills' providing a spark later in the game.
The Cavs came out of the gate fast, jumping to the early lead and when Delly entered he kept the momentum going.
He threw two of his patented shot/lobs to Tristan Thompson, and muscled his way past Mills for a layup in a productive 1st quarter.
I still can't tell when Delly releases if he's throwing a lob or taking a shot.
— Lang Whitaker (@langwhitaker) January 15, 2016
In the period Mills drained a timely 3-pointer and forced Delly into an offensive foul during an inbounds play, essentially by interlocking their bodies together.
With both coaches playing their starters heavy minutes, neither Aussie was sighted until Delly hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the 3rd quarter.
Mills then provided his own patented energy patch in the 4th, getting involved in 7 straight points for the Spurs by hitting a triple and dishing out two assists in quick time.
That's 3-from-3 for Mills vs his Aussie opponents during the month of January. He will look to make it 4-from-4 on Australia Day when the Spurs face Andrew Bogut and the Warriors.
https://youtu.be/qYUVRbQVwtM