Slovenia’s title defense in the EuroBasket tournament is off to a rousing start as the steamroller known as Luka Dončić continues to flatten everybody in the way.
While the Mavericks’ superstar point guard wasn’t dominant in the scoring department, he did control the action in the fourth quarter and lead the Slovenians to an impressive 92-85 comeback victory over Domantas Sabonis and Lithuania Thursday at Cologne, Germany.
With owner Mark Cuban, coach Jason Kidd, president of basketball operations Nico Harrison and a few others forming a Maverick entourage at the opener of the 18-day event, Dončić waited until late to put on a show.
He had six assists in the fourth quarter and finished with 14 points, 10 helpers, six rebounds and three steals.
He also set the table for an emotional tribute to fellow Mavericks’ legend Dirk Nowitzki, which took place between Slovenia’s game and the start of Germany-France.
But first, it was Luka’s turn to go to work and his day included getting whacked in the face several times, including once on a wayward, inadvertent elbow late in the game by Sabonis. Those two free throws (on an otherwise poor day shooting free throws by both teams) with 1:37 to play put the Slovenians up 88-81 and doused any chance for the Lithuanians.
And Luka remained unbeaten in EuroBasket play. This is the tournament that has run since 1935, usually in years when there are no Olympics or World Championships.
The last one was in 2017, when Luka and the Slovenians swept to the tournament championship with a 9-0 record.
Thursday’s win makes Slovenia 10-0 whenever Luka has played in the tournament.
He had loads of help against the Lithuanians. Mike Tobey had 24 points and eight rebounds and Goran Dragic had 19 points.
The Slovenians next play Hungary on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. The 24-team tournament is divided into four groups of six teams each. After five games against the other teams in their group, the top four teams in each group begin the knockout rounds.
Tyler Dorsey, the Mavericks’ two-way player who was signed earlier this summer, is playing for Greece, which opens their tournament play on Friday at 10 a.m. Dallas time.
Meanwhile, it could not have been a more emotional tribute for Nowitzki. Dressed in a snazzy suit and tie, he sat and watched his No. 14 German national team jersey get raised to the rafters. It’s the first jersey ever retired by the German basketball federation.
Dončić sat next to Cuban, Kidd and Harrison as Dirk’s ceremony took place and fireworks exploded inside the arena while a light show lit up Dirk’s No. 14 and “MVP” on the court. Fans, as if on cue, followed with chants of “MVP, MVP, MVP.”
“What a night,” Cuban said via Twitter. “Congrats @Swish41 on having your national team number retired.”
Nowitzki led Germany to numerous international victories and an appearance in the 2008 Olympic Games. He also retired in 2019 after 21 seasons with the Mavericks and finishing as the sixth-leading scorer in NBA history.
Twitter: @Esefko
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