Luka Doncic's Triple-Double Powers Slovenia Past Montenegro
Luka Doncic and the Slovenian national team played their final preparation game in front of home fans in Ljubljana ahead of departing for Malaga, Spain, to continue their preparation for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Doncic shouldered the load for Slovenia, scoring 21 of his 34 points in the first half. He finished with a triple-double by recording 34 points, 13 rebounds, and 14 assists. He shot 11-21 from the floor and 4-11 on 3s, but just 8-15 on free throws, continuing his struggles from the line.
"Every player who stepped on the floor gave their all, but Luka Doncic, above all, showed a new outstanding performance," Slovenian national team coach Aleksander Sekulic said. "Both he and Jaka Blazic and Zoran Dragic played a little more today, as they need matches to get into a rhythm."
Doncic did a lot of his damage playing out of isolation with Montenegro attempting to switch, accounting for 13 of his total points. He did a mix of attacking out of the post (four points) at times as well as high pick-and-roll (six points), but also found ways to score on putbacks (five points) and transition (four points).
It was a tightly contested matchup throughout, which featured a 90-90 tie with around three minutes remaining in regulation. Doncic converted a free throw and a 3-pointer, then assisted a 3-pointer from Jaki Blazic to push Slovenia to a 97-92 advantage.
Doncic later knocked down another 3-pointer with about 33 seconds left, followed by Klemen Prepelic making free throws to seal the win.
Without Vlatko Cancar in the lineup following suffering a torn ACL, Slovenia did gain Mike Tobey. However, Prepelic stepped up with 17 points and five assists, while the team received 10 points each from Jordan Morgan and Bine Prepelic.
"We knew that we couldn't replace Vlatko Cancar, so the team has to adapt, some players have to come to the fore, and Bine Prepelic did that perfectly today," Sekulic said
Tobey played limited minutes since Slovenia plans to increase his workload as he gets acclimated into the fold. It comes at a needed team with premier matchups against Spain and Team USA next on the schedule.
"Mike Tobey only joined us yesterday, so he had limited playing time. Now we have two challenging tests in Spain against probably the best national teams in the world, which will show how good we are against the strongest."
Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).
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