Three years ago today, the Bala supreme Patty Mills — aka Patty Thrills, aka Patty Cakes, aka the Torres Strait Terror — was coming off leading Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs to their fifth NBA title… and on a typically cold, wet Oregon night at the Rose Garden, went up against his old team, the Portland Trail Blazers.
Despite Patty Cake’s most valiant effort — and his sixth highest scoring game of the year — the Blazers won by 18 and beat the pants off the Spurs like Jeff Fenech tanning the hide of Satoshi Shingaki at Olympic Park back in ’85.
Still, Patty has more scrap in him than a Kalgoorlie bouncer, and going up against the team that gave him his first shot at the NBA was like waving a tin of baked beans and an instagram model in front of Warnie: Patty went off like my mate Jezza after punching a couple of cones and charging into the DUNE RATS mosh at Falls.
Patty thrilled the Portland faithful with a legendary 10 minutes on the hardwood, getting ‘em up like he was Shane ‘the Hammer’ Heal, going 4-of-9 from the field and a scorching 2-for-4 from 3, ending up with 10 points quicker than Brocky coming down Conrod Straight back in the day.
Not content with being hotter than the insides of a microwaved pie, Patty Cakes added 2 assists and 1 rebound, making for 10 minutes of court time more electrifyingly rousing than Angus’ second solo in Acca Dacca’s ‘Shoot To Thrill’!
Just a shame that Pop bizarrely stuck with that French flog Tony Parker who was having an absolute Barry Crocker; going 1-of-8 and scoring only 2 points in 27 minutes. Just some more casual Anti-Strayan bias I reckon.
Oh well. 10 points in 10 minutes against your old team is still pretty bloody grouse!
#ONYA Bala Pat!
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