Luka Doncic, Slovenia fall to Germany in EuroBasket quarterfinal

RIGA, Latvia — Luka Doncic and Slovenia saw their EuroBasket run come to an end.

The Lakers star scored 39 points on Wednesday, but it was not enough for Slovenia as it lost to Germany, 99-91, in a thrilling EuroBasket quarterfinal.

Orlando Magic guard Franz Wagner scored 23 points and captain Dennis Schröder added 20 points and seven assists for Germany, which will face Finland in the semifinals on Friday.

Germany guard Andreas Obst’s 3-pointer capped a 12-0 run to put the reigning FIBA World Cup champions ahead 77-74 early in the fourth quarter.

Slovenia took an 86-85 lead on a Doncic 3-pointer with 4:12 left before Schröder sank his only 3-pointer – he missed eight other attempts – for an 88-86 lead, and Germany closed it out from there.

Doncic was assessed a technical foul early in the first half and had 22 points as Slovenia led 51-45 at halftime. He picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter yet kept on scoring, although he appeared inhibited at times by the prospect of fouling out with a fifth foul.

The Lakers star — who shot 5 for 16 from 3-point range – scored at least 30 points in five of his seven tournament games. Doncic also had 10 rebounds and seven assists.

Wagner shot 13 for 14 from the free-throw line for Germany, seeking its second European Championship title after winning as the host in 1993.

Slovenia looked in control until Tristan Da Silva sank a 3-pointer with a halfcourt shot at the third-quarter buzzer, slashing Slovenia’s lead to four points.

The final is on Sunday in Riga, Latvia, which has hosted all of the knockout matches.

Finland holds off Georgia

Earlier, the Finns held off a Georgia fightback to win, 93-79, and reach the semifinals for the first time.

Earlier, Mikael Jantunen led Finland with 19 points and Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen contributed 17 points and six rebounds.

“It’s been the same group for a long time. It’s a very tight group, like coming back and playing with your friends,” Jantunen said. “That’s the kind of basketball culture in Finland.”

The Finns also showcased their depth by scoring 44 points from the bench to Georgia’s four.

Finland led by 20 points in the third quarter before Georgia cut the deficit to six with just under eight minutes left in the fourth.

Toronto Raptors forward Sandro Mamukelashvili led Georgia with 22 points.

Coming off an upset of Nikola Jokic and Serbia, Finland surged into an early lead on strong 3-point shooting and doubled up Georgia 30-15 early in the second quarter.

Highly-rated 18-year-old forward Miikka Muurinen, who is projected to be a potential NBA first-round draft pick in 2027, scored seven points off the bench.

It was the first time in the quarterfinals as an independent nation for Georgia, which knocked out Olympic silver medalist France in the Round of 16 and beat defending EuroBasket champion Spain in the group stage.

Greece faces Turkey in the other semifinal

In Friday’s other semifinal, it’s Greece against Turkey. Both teams had advanced on Tuesday.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 29 points in Greece’s 87-76 victory over Lithuania. Alperen Sengun’s triple-double helped unbeaten Turkey to a 91-77 victory over Poland.

(Visited 2 times, 1 visits today)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *