Doncic’s 42 and Antetokounmpo’s 37 Ignite Epic EuroBasket Showdowns—Who Dominated the Court?
You know, if I had a say right now, Luka Doncic would walk away with the EuroBasket MVP hands-down. The guy shows up looking leaner and meaner than ever—like he’s on a mission after Dallas gave him the cold shoulder—and boy, has he been schooling everyone on the court. Just this past Sunday, he dropped a whopping 42 points and grabbed 10 boards, pushing Slovenia past Italy in a high-stakes knockout battle. Italy had their spark from Heat’s Simone Fontecchio, who tossed in 22 points, but it wasn’t quite enough. Now, Slovenia’s gearing up for a Tuesday clash against Germany—the defending World Cup champs—who’ve got Orlando’s Franz Wagner and Sacramento’s Dennis Schroder ready to roll.
Meanwhile, the EuroBasket action on Sunday’s Round of 16 front was nothing short of electrifying. Greece, propelled by the relentless Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 37 points and 10 rebounds, punched their ticket to the quarterfinals by overcoming Israel, led by Trail Blazers’ Deni Avdija’s solid 22 points. Then there’s Georgia, shaking things up—thanks to former Nets/Bulls man Tornike Shengelia and Butler’s Kamar Baldwin, each netting 24 points—to topple the French squad, which missed stars like Wembanyama and Gobert. Don’t forget Poland’s own former Raptor Jordan Lloyd, who lit it up with 24 points to send Bosnia and Herzegovina packing, despite Jusuf Nurkic’s 20-point, seven-rebound effort.
Stick around, because this tournament is shaping up to be a thriller.
If the vote were to take place today, Luka Doncic would win EuroBasket MVP.
“Skinny” Doncic — who looks to be in the best shape of his career, a revenge body after Dallas dumped him — has dominated this tournament and on Sunday scored 42 with 10 boards to lift Slovenia past Italy and into the quarterfinals with a knockout round win.
Italy was led by the Heat’s Simone Fontecchio, who scored 22 points in the loss.
Slovenia’s win sets up a showdown Tuesday with defending World Cup champion Germany, led by Orlando’s Franz Wagner and Sacramento’s Dennis Schroder.
In other action Sunday at EuroBasket in the Round of 16 elimination games:
• The second leading scorer at EuroBasket is Giannis Antetokounmpo and thanks to a 37-and-10 game from him on Sunday against Israel, Greece also is on to the quarterfinals with a win.
Israel got 22 points from the Trail Blazers’ Deni Avdija, who had a fantastic EuroBasket.
• Georgia got 24 points each from former Net and Bull Tornike Shengelia as well as former Butler standout Kamar Baldwin to pull off the upset against France. Orlando big man Goga Bitadze made some key defensive plays.
The French got a dozen points from the Knicks’ Guerschon Yabusele, but the Paris Olympics silver medal team was shorthanded in this tournament without Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert.
• Former Raptor Jordan Lloyd scored 24 to help lift Poland to the quarterfinals with a win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Jusuf Nurkic had 20 points and seven boards for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the loss.
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