The breezy stroll Luka Dončić was taking through the EuroBasket tournament turned into an arduous trek on Sunday.
Having won their first two games convincingly, the Slovenians ran into a hot-shooting opponent and a cold game of their own from 3-point range and suffered their first defeat in EuroBasket in seven years.
Bosnia and Herzegovina rode the remarkable 3-point shooting of John Roberson (a Plano High School and Texas Tech product) to score a 97-93 upset of Dončić and Slovenia.
It dropped Slovenia to 2-1 in Group B play – with two very challenging games upcoming before the knockout rounds begin.
This marks the first time that the Mavericks’ superstar point guard has not been atop the EuroBasket. In his first appearance in 2017, the Slovenians swept their way to the championship, winning all nine games. They opened this tournament as defending champions by winning against Lithuania and Hungary.
But it was much tougher, literally, against Bosnia and Herzegovina. With Portland Trail Blazers’ center Jusuf Nurkic leading the way, the Bosnians used a bigger lineup to make life tough on Dončić and his teammates.
Luka managed just 16 points to go with eight rebounds, eight assists and fours steals. But he did not make a 3-pointer on eight tries.
Meanwhile, Roberson canned 7-of-13 3-pointers on his way to 23 points to lead the winners, who also outrebounded the Slovenians 45-38.
It was a struggle from the start for Luka and Co., falling behind 8-0 early and trailing much of the way. They were tied at 86 with under 4 minutes to play, but Nurkic hit two free throws and Bosnia and Herzegovina soon went up 93-89 with under a minute left.
Slovenia could not secure a defensive rebound after forcing a missed shot and resorted to fouling and Bosnia and Herzegovina made its free throws down the stretch.
The loss for Slovenia makes the final two games in the group phase far more important. And the level of competition in what they call the “group of death” is significant.
And it comes in a demanding four-game, five-night stretch in which they will face Germany, which now is alone atop Group 5 at 3-0 after beating Lithuania 109-107 in double overtime on Sunday, awaits on Tuesday. Slovenia then finishes group play on Wednesday against France.
Those teams are considered to be tougher tests than Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Twitter: @Esefko
Share and comment