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Patty Mills leads Aussies past Slovenia for nation's first men's basketball medal

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As impressive as Slovenia's Olympic basketball debut has been, they will not be taking home any hardware from Tokyo.

Australia took down the Slovenians by a score of 107-93 in Saturday morning's bronze medal game, giving the Aussies — believe it or not — their first-ever medal in Olympic men's basketball.

The Aussies got off to a hot start, taking a 9-2 lead three-and-a-half minutes into the contest. Slovenia eventually found its footing and took a brief lead, but Australia captain Patty Mills quickly led his squad back into the driver's seat after exploding for 26 points in the first half.

Mills totaled a ridiculous 42 points in the contest.

Joe Ingles and Dante Exum also put together strong performances for Australia. Ingles sunk four shots from beyond the arc to finish with 16 points and nine boards while Exum came up huge for Australia in the fourth quarter with seven points in the game's final 10 minutes.

Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic (22 points, eight rebounds, seven assists) did all he could to get Slovenia back into the game late, helping to bring his countrymen within three points with 6:18 remaining in the contest. However, the Aussies began to pull away soon after Jaka Blazic committed a technical foul on Mills after a whistle, triggering a 24-13 Australia run to end the game.

It was a historic day for Australia basketball, and while the Slovenians may not have earned a medal in Tokyo, their future appears just as bright as the Aussies' after a remarkable Olympic basketball debut.