Germany Overcomes Poor Start in Blowout Win Over Luka Doncic, Slovenia
OKINAWA, Japan — In a match to finish as the only undefeated team in Okinawa, Germany managed to pull away sharply from Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic and Slovenia after scoring just 11 points in the opening quarter. Germany went on to win 100-71.
Doncic and Slovenia controlled the momentum of the match early on, achieving a lead as large as 14 points. Doncic scored 12 points in the opening period alone — one more than Germany, establishing a 25-11 lead at the end of the first period.
Often utilizing post-ups, Doncic's combination of size, strength, and skill was unstoppable against Germany's defense. Unlike Slovenia's previous matchup — Australia — the gameplan wasn't to force the ball out of his hands by using blitzes and double-teams.
After Dennis Schroder dished it to Isaac Bonga for a made catch-and-shoot 3 with 3:43 left in the second quarter, Slovenia's was reduced to just 32-28. Another make from deep brought Germany within just one point before Doncic answered with a reverse layup. However, the momentum continued for Germany, leading 38-34 at halftime as a result of Slovenia being outscored 27-9 in the period.
In the first half, Doncic was taking a lot of shots from beyond the arc, but converted at just a 1-7 clip. Germany had begun utilizing various strategies to reduce sequences where the superstar faced a mismatch by pre-switching and more doubles.
Schroder put together a strong stretch of shot-making and playmaking to help Germany take control. His team achieved a double-figure lead after he executed an alley-oop pass for a dunk. The lead Germany established reached 21 points at one point, resulting in a 68-52 advantage entering the final period.
Slovenia never managed to make it a single-figure game throughout the final period with Germany constantly having an answer with impressive execution on offense. Schroder put the final stamp on the game by converting a pull-up 3 to push the lead back up to 21 with under five minutes left.
Doncic finished with 23 points, six rebounds, six assists, and two steals, but did it wasn't nearly enough. Germany broke the game open with impressive shooting and execution picking apart Slovenia's smaller defense. However, he did so while shooting 9-22 overall and was 2-11 from 3-point range and 3-5 from the free throw line.
Schroder put together an impressive performance to lead Germany, recording 24 points and 10 assists, while shooting 8-11 from the floor, 4-7 from deep, and 4-5 on free throws. In addition to his scoring production, there were four of his German teammates that also scored in double-figures.
There was a drastic different in overall shot making between the two teams. Germany produced 55-48-88 shooting splits, including 15 made 3s. Meanwhile, Slovenia was contained to shooting 41 percent overall and 21.9 percent from the perimeter.
Both Slovenia and Germany already solidified placement in the quarterfinals in Manila, but the winner of this game receives a more favorable path to the final.
