NBA star Luka Doncic scores 48 factors in Olympics debut, serving to Slovenia defeat Argentina
Until you determined to remain up late to look at the Slovenian males’s basketball workforce early Monday, you most likely missed Dallas Mavericks celebrity Luka Doncic placing on an absolute present to hold Slovenia to a 118 to 100 win over Argentina. The third-year NBA star completed the sport with 48 factors, 11 rebounds and 5 assists in his Olympic debut, lifting Slovenia to its first-ever win on the Video games.
Doncic seemed like a person amongst boys towards Argentina, utilizing his measurement and power to get no matter he wished within the paint, and utilizing his patented step-back 3-pointer to sink shot after shot from lengthy vary. Within the first half alone, he tallied 31 factors, serving to Slovenia to a 20-point lead after two-quarters of motion.
Doncic barreled his method into the paint for straightforward buckets across the rim, flicked behind-the-back passes to teammates for flashy assists, fought within the paint for boards and even obtained a block towards the tip of the sport with the win already in hand. It wasn’t too dissimilar from what we have seen from the 22-year-old All-Star in his three seasons with the Mavericks, incomes him the moniker “Luka Magic” for his dazzling play.
However this efficiency was extra than simply one other high-scoring Doncic efficiency. His 48 factors tied him for the second-most factors scored in an Olympic basketball sport ever, sharing that feat with Australia’s Eddie Palubinskas, who additionally put up 48 factors towards Mexico in 1976. If the sport was any nearer, there’s an excellent probability that Oscar Schmidt’s 33-year report for many factors scored in an Olympic basketball sport (55 factors with Brazil) would have fallen simply. That is how scorching sizzling Doncic was towards Argentina.
In reality, Slovenia’s teaching workers gave him a chance to get the report. When Doncic checked out of the sport with over 4 minutes left within the fourth quarter, the Slovenian coaches gave him the choice to proceed enjoying to chase that report. However the two-time All-Star NBA participant declined the provide, as an alternative of relishing getting his dwelling nation’s first win on the Olympic stage.
“I do not care about information,” Doncic stated after the sport. “We obtained a win, and that is what we got here right here for.”
Not getting the report did not cease Argentina’s head coach from heaping reward on Doncic, calling him the “greatest participant on the planet.”
“He’s the very best participant on the planet, together with the NBA,” Sergio Hernandez stated. “If there was any doubt in my thoughts, there is no such thing as a doubt anymore. He’s the very best participant on the planet, and it is an honor to be there within the sport with him.”
Contemplating the surprising loss the U.S. suffered to France in its opening sport of the Olympics, it isn’t ridiculous to say Doncic is enjoying the very best basketball of anybody proper now. However Doncic has by no means cared concerning the particular person reward or accolades. Slovenian workforce captain Edo Muric stated postgame that Doncic requested to be pulled from the sport when it was out of attain, saying “I’ve sufficient, let others have it as effectively.”
Making the Olympics alone was already a monumental feat for a Slovenian nation that has by no means certified within the historical past of the Video games, one thing that Doncic as soon as once more performed an enormous hand in. Slovenia beat Lithuania in a FIBA Olympic qualifying match to get a ticket to Tokyo, the place Doncic put up 31 factors, 13 assists and 11 rebounds within the last sport.
Trying forward, with Slovenia’s win, it places the nation on the high of its group tied with Spain, which beat Japan in its Olympic opener. If Doncic can carry Slovenia to a top-two end in Group C, it can assure a spot within the Ultimate Part of the match, placing it inside attain of competing for a medal. The competitors is stiff as France, Australia, Italy, Spain and, after all, the U.S. are all medal contenders on this match. But if Doncic’s Olympic debut taught us something, it is that if he is in your workforce you will have an opportunity to win.
This story initially appeared on CBS Sports activities.
