What we learned about Luka Dončić during Slovenia’s appearance at EuroBasket
Luka Dončić and the Slovenian national team have been busy advancing through the group stage of EuroBasket, with the Dallas star putting on his most fiery performance since the Dallas Conference Finals last spring.
Recently, the 23-year-old Mavs guard led Slovenia past Belgium and advanced at EuroBasket with a historic 35 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals. With this performance, Dončić also became the first player to score more than 30 points in three consecutive EuroBasket games in the last 30 years.
But Dončić has already been showing performances throughout the group stage of the EuroBasket.
Dončić finished with 14 points (4-of-17 shooting), six rebounds, 10 assists and three steals in 35 minutes to lead the team to a group stage opener against Lithuania.
And while he didn’t play his usual minutes in Slovenia’s win over Hungary, Dončić was able to beat a defender in transition to throw down a no-look assist and drain a series of 3-pointers. in the third quarter, which was marked by a call and a wave from the EuroBasket logo at midcourt.
Slovenia coach Aleksander Sekulič about Luka Dončić: “He doesn’t care if he plays with Hungary or the EuroBasket final. He will put on a show. … It’s like a playground. He has to have fun.” https://t.co/a43RQJbSem
— Callie Caplan (@CallieCaplan) September 3, 2022
The Mavericks star had 36 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes of Slovenia’s EuroBasket win over undefeated hosts Germany, in a game that followed two national team losses in the last nine days – the same number of losses Slovenia suffered in Dončić’s matchup. the first four years together with the senior team.
On August 28, Slovenia lost to Germany by 19 points, which was only the third defeat in Dončić’s five-year tenure with the national team. Slovenia then suffered a big defeat at EuroBasket against Bosnia and Herzegovina on September 4, which ended the streak of 11 victories at EuroBasket.
Despite receiving stitches at halftime of the Slovenian EuroBasket match against France after being elbowed in the head, Dončić recorded a EuroBasket national team record – 47 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Are you wondering why Luka Dončić decided to spend his NBA seasons playing hard for Slovenia – stitches in his head, loose wrist, wobbly fingers and all?
This moment sums it up pretty well. pic.twitter.com/2otV0qkDfv
— Callie Caplan (@CallieCaplan) September 7, 2022
The victory helped Slovenia, the defending EuroBasket champions from 2017, finish the group stage of the tournament 4-1 and emerge from the extremely competitive Group B as the top seed before facing Belgium on Saturday.
Dončić and Slovenia will face Poland in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Find more Mavericks coverage in The Dallas Morning News here.