RIGA, Latvia — Luka Doncic seems more than ready for the coming NBA season, after another dazzling show in a EuroBasket Round of 16 game on Sunday.
The Lakers star finished with 42 points in Slovenia’s 84-77 victory over Italy, a win that pushed his team to the quarterfinals of the European championships for the third consecutive time. Slovenia won the title in 2017, then reached the quarterfinals in 2022.
Slovenia will play reigning FIBA World Cup champion Germany in a quarterfinal on Wednesday at 11 a.m. PT.
Doncic scored 30 first-half points on Sunday, helping stake Slovenia to a 29-11 lead after one quarter and a 50-40 advantage at the intermission. Doncic was 9 for 13 from the field in the half – 5 for 5 on 2-pointers and 4 for 8 from 3-point range – and was 8 for 9 from the free-throw line. No other Slovenia player had more than four points in the half.
Doncic finished the game 11 for 19 from the field in 33 minutes, plus he was 15 for 16 from the foul line.
Doncic was the leading scorer in the group stage of the tournament, averaging 32.4 points in Slovenia’s first five games. This was the fourth time in six tournament games that he has scored at least 30 points in a game.
Despite Doncic’s big game, Italy staged a stunning comeback and moved within one point of Slovenia with just under two minutes left.
Doncic maintained his poise and twice made both of his free throws to pass 40 points and keep Italy out of reach.
Georgia advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time with a dominant 80-70 victory over France.
Georgia’s players sprinted off the bench at the end of the game, hugging and jumping up and down as their fans banged drums and danced in the crowd.
“Unbelievable. I’m really happy, congrats to my teammates, everyone, all our fans in Georgia and here,” Georgia veteran Giorgi Shermadini said. “France are amazing, but today we played better in defense and offense.”
France was the runner-up to Spain in the 2022 final, but both teams failed to reach the quarterfinal stage this time. Georgia will next face Finland, which knocked out Nikola Jokic’s Serbia team on Saturday.
Olympic silver medalist France shot just 6 for 36 from 3-point range (16.7%), while Georgia was 10 for 18 and punished France for frequently fouling by sinking 20 of 24 free throws.
Georgia led by one point at halftime and by nine early in the fourth quarter, with Barcelona forward Tornike Shengelia’s blend of athleticism and raw power pressuring France’s inexperienced defense.
France’s scrappy offense failed to get Guerschon Yabusele, who scored 36 points against Poland during the group stage, into enough open plays, and he was too often pushed out wide. The Atlanta Hawks’ Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 NBA draft pick in 2024, found some form as France dragged itself back into the game, and with three minutes left, the score was knotted at 68-all.
But France’s wastefulness from behind the arc ultimately proved costly as Les Bleus could not get on a run.
Shengelia was inspirational for Georgia with 24 points and eight rebounds, while American-born Kamar Baldwin also scored 24 for Georgia, which beat Spain during the group stage.
“We never stopped fighting, believing,” Shengelia said. “I want to thank the people who came this far to Riga to support us. We felt the extra energy.”
Point guard Sylvain Francisco led France with 14 points. Yabusele was held to 12 points, and Risacher mustered only seven.
France coach Frédéric Fauthoux was without 7-foot-3 San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama – who has been dealing with deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder – and key veterans like Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier.
Shooting guard Jordan Loyd scored 28 points and forward Mateusz Ponitka had 19 points and 11 rebounds as Poland beat Bosnia and Herzegovina, 80-72, to set up a quarterfinal against Turkey.
Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkić again led Bosnia and Herzegovina with 20 points and seven rebounds.
In the last Round-of-16 game, Greece – which eliminated defending champion Spain in the group stage – beat Israel, 84-79, to set up a quarterfinal against three-time champion Lithuania.
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo turned in another dominating performance with 37 points and 10 rebounds for Greece.
The quarterfinals will be held Tuesday and Wednesday. The final is next Sunday.