PARIS OLYMPICS 2024: Australian Boomers denied last second technical foul after Patty Mills hit clutch shot over Nikola Jokic

Patty Mills had just made one of the shots of his career over a towering Nikola Jokic to tie up the score 82-82 with less than two seconds to go.

Serbia thought they had a timeout - they were wrong.

As Australian basketball fans come to terms with another disappointing Olympic exit many are furious the Aussies were not given one last shot at winning the game in regulation time before Serbia went on to win 95-90 in overtime.

The Boomers built a huge 24-point lead during the first half but couldn’t resist a record fightback from Serbia, led by NBA superstar Jokic (21 points). Mills (26 points) and Josh Giddey (25 points) led the Boomers bravely against the World No 4 Serbia.

The chaotic finish to regulation time saw Serbia call for a timeout despite having none remaining and not being assessed for a delay of game technical foul despite FIBA rules saying they should have been. If they had been Australia could have won the game with single successful free throw via the technical foul.

The pandemonium after Mills’ clutch shot as he slid backwards appeared to have distracted the referees with the Serbian players signalling for a timeout and starting to walk towards their bench.

The referees allowed the Serbs to regather themselves and inbound the ball with a final Hail Mary three-quarter court shot falling short.

The Australian assistant coaches remonstrated with the referees over the non-call as the Boomers huddled in preparation for overtime.

Aussie basketball legend Andrew Gaze was quick to recognise the officiating oversight and questioned why the Serbs were not penalised.

With less than 10 seconds to go Australian coach Brian Goorjian had called a timeout - following a clutch Jokic shot - with the Serbs then calling a second timeout immediately after the Australian one concluded in a move Gaze questioned.

He said this meant Serbia had no timeouts to use if they regained possession after the Boomers. It is unclear if Serbia believed they had one more timeout than they were allocated.

Under FIBA rules each team gets two first half and three second half timeouts, but can only use two of them in the final two minutes.

Giddey, who hobbled off the court with an ankle injury at the death, said the referees got it wrong.

“I mean, yeah. You can’t do that. I think it’s pretty normal when you call a timeout when you don’t have one, you’re not allowed to,” Giddey said.

“I’m not going to get caught up in what could’ve happened or what should’ve been called. The game played out how it did, and we weren’t good enough, they were better than us.”

Australian fans also let loose online over the debacle.

“Yeh so one of the Serbia coaches definitely asks the ref for a timeout there.. Does FIBA not give out technical fouls for that??? Aus should have been awarded a technical free throw.,” basketball writer Brad Smyth posted.

The fallout from the heartbreaking loss comes as Boomers head coach after Brian Goorjian confirmed he was stepping down.

Goorjian told reporters outside the Olympic precinct his time as coach was over this morning.

“This was always the plan ... I think I’ve been an important piece of this process and it’s time to move away,” Goorjian said.

“When I get off the plane, I’ll walk away feeling proud of my contribution over the 16 years I’ve been involved with the Boomers.”

Goorjian led the Boomers to four Olympic tournaments in his two stints at the helm, from 2002-08 and 2020-24.

The 71-year-old famously steered the Boomers to their first Olympic medal when they claimed bronze in Tokyo.

He then oversaw a rebuilding of the roster, which was “maxed out” after Tokyo, and believes the future is bright for the Boomers.

“I like the culture, I like where the team’s at,” Goorjian said.

“I like the group I finished with, and I like the group I’ve left moving forward with - including staff.

“I just think it’s a really exciting time for Australian basketball and if you viewed these Games, there’s nothing I’m embarrassed about.”

Goorjian will now turn his eye to the NBL after signing a three-year deal to return to the Sydney Kings.

Goorjian led the Kings to three consecutive titles from 2003 to 2005.