PIRAEUS, Greece — Entering Thusday's matchup against New Zealand, Slovenia needed to win by at least 10 points to avoid being eliminated from the Olympic qualifying tournament. A victory by 29 or more points would result in a first-place finish in Group A. Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic proved instrumental in guiding Slovenia to a 104-78 win by recording 36 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Doncic looks forward to facing a Greece squad led by Giannis Antetokounmpo in the semifinal on Saturday, but he felt his team redeemed themselves after a disappointing effort in the previous match against Croatia. With Slovenia up by 26, Doncic did have the final shot of the night in the corner but missed, which he felt was a missed chance
"We were aware that we disappointed the Slovenian fans against Croatia and that we had to show a better image on the floor," Doncic said. "Today, it was the real Slovenia, it's just a shame that I didn't hit that last shot, which would have given us an easier opponent in the semi-finals. But we have to beat Greece if we want to go to the Olympics. It doesn't matter whether it's in the semifinals or the finals. It's certainly not an easy task, as they have some great players in addition to Giannis Antetokounmpo. We will need a perfect match to win.''
Doncic achieved a triple-double for the second consecutive game, with his first consisting of 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists against Croatia, with the outcome being a 108-92 defeat. He felt after the game against Croatia that he didn't play with the necessary energy to help contribute to a victory, but was proud of how the team responded against New Zealand.
"I often say that you learn a lot from such matches," Doncic told Klemen Verlic of SportTV Slovenia. "Like I said, I came into the game with no energy, so it wasn't fair to my team. I fixed it today..."
New Zealand played hard, with plenty of trash talk directed at Doncic, who relished the back-and-forth exchanges throughout the game. Slovenia just proved to overmatch New Zealand, with Doncic orchestrating a dominant offensive display while the team's defense frequently achieved defensive stops.
Doncic scored eight of Slovenia's first 14 points to establish a 12-point lead early before checking out of the game for the game for the first time. It was a strong start for Slovenia, which was kicked off by a step-back three-pointer from Doncic after attacking a mismatch created by New Zealand switching in pick-and-roll. However, his only shot was made from deep in the first half. Instead, he did most of his damage, attacking the paint and the post.
Gregor Hrovat told reporters that Slovenia met as a team after the loss against Croatia, understanding they needed to produce a much improved effort against New Zealand. It was instrumental in the strong start the team achieved in this game.
"After the game against Croatia, we knew that we didn't play well, we didn't play our game," Hrovat said. "We had some meetings between the players with the coaching staff, and we decided that today we're going to go all out because we knew if we didn't win against New Zealand, and at least for 10 points, we would go out.
"So from the first minute, we really start playing amazing defense, and this is supposed to be our main characteristic to play amazing defense and we did that," Hrovat added.
Slovenia head coach Aleksander Sekulic challenged his players after losing to Croatia, asking for a significant response against New Zealand by having the players come out with a strong sense of urgency. With New Zealand coming off an impressive victory over Croatia, there was an evident indication that Slovenia had to brings its best.
"We were just focused locked in for this game, which obviously was very important for us to win by a big margin," Sekulic said. "We changed some things of course because this New Zealand team, we have big respect. They beat Croatia, who kicked our asses, so they showed the quality we needed to adjust we need to adapt to their style of game regarding our defense. And I think we did a great job. I mean, players did a great job.
Sekulic added that Slovenia only had a walkthrough on Wednesday instead of having a full practice, but the team still made necessary changes to adjust before facing New Zealand. The strong start to the game proved to carry Slovenia to manage the match throughout, and Sekulic admitted he was impressed by the extent of the result.
"Knowing that, basically, we didn't even basically have a practice," Sekulic said. "We just had a small walkthrough and they play their own style, which is very unique and very dangerous to play against. I think the guys took this game personally. And we almost won the game by margin, which would lead us to the first place, which I was, to be honest, impressed."
With New Zealand struggling to score and Slovenia's offensive momentum being high., Slovenia closed the first period up 27-9. However, the situation drastically changed in the second quarter, with New Zealand outscoring Slovenia 30-19, resulting in just a 46-39 halftime advantage. A significant response was to be expected, given the stakes of needing to avoid elimination.
Entering a timeout with 3:08 left before halftime, Slovenia's advantage had been reduced to just 38-27. New Zealand continued to chip away at Slovenia's lead, cutting it to eight points with under two minutes before the break. Entering halftime, Slovenia was up 46-39 at halftime, with Doncic totaling 19 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
New Zealand made it a six-point game early in the third quarter. Still, Slovenia rallied to build a 60-43 lead after Doncic converted a turnaround jumper and found Hrovat using a full-court throw-ahead pass leading to a layup. This sequence prompted New Zealand to call a timeout. The lead grew as large as 19 after Doncic used a series of between-the-legs dribbles to get to the rim for a scoop finish.
"It's unbelievable to have a player like that. He gives us extra confidence," Hrovat said. "With him, it's so much easier to play, and we know that a lot of times, other teams try to guard him with one, two, or three players. So it's extra room for others, but it's still on us to, to execute... Everything starts with defense. And today all five guys or even 12 guys who stepped on the court, really gave everything in defense. And that's the key."
With a large faction of Slovenian fans chanting "MVP!" during his trip to the free throw line, Doncic made both to put the team up by an 18-point margin before checking out with around four minutes left in the third period. Without Doncic on the court, Slovenia continued to add to the lead, going up by as many as 25 after Klemen Prepelic converted a three-pointer to cap off the impressive stretch.
New Zealand did not relent as a three-pointer before the third quarter ended reduced Slovenia's lead to 17. However, Doncic hit a catch-and-shoot three-pointer before the buzzer to extend Slovenia's lead to 20 after missing a step-back on the previous possession. He'd already scored 31 points, with his team up 77-57.
Doncic converted a step-back from beyond the arc to begin the final period. However, Doncic and Slovenia cooled off from the perimeter again while New Zealand heated up, resulting in Slovenia's advantage being reduced to 15 late in the fourth quarter. The perimeter shooting flurry continued for New Zealand, but Slovenia scored inside the arc enough to maintain a comfortable advantage.
Slovenia was motivated to run up the score to finish first in Group A, which would require a victory of 29 or more points. Leading by as many as 27 in clutch time, at some points, Slovenia fouled New Zealand to preserve time despite being up by so many points. The team's mentality was that they were down by two after it was clear that advancement was set, but they still faced the possibility of finishing atop the group.
"We tried to first to win the game. Second, our goal was to try to win by 10," Hrovat explained. "And when we saw that we had a chance in the end to try to win for 29, for sure, we tried. It's a little bit strange because we're not used to it. But in our heads, we were like down to for the last minute. That's why we were making fouls. We didn't look at it that we are up 27. We were looking like we're down by two. So that's why we we play like that in the end. Yeah, it was a little bit strange, but That's basketball.
Doncic drew a foul with 19.8 seconds left from behind the three-point line, which was challenged and upgraded. He made two of three free throws to grow the lead to 27. Multiple missed three-point attempts on Slovenia's final trip down the floor prevented them from winning by the necessary 29-point margin to end with a first-place finish in Group A.
Slovenia is now headed for a matchup against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Greek national team in the semifinals. The winner of that game would advance to the final with a chance to compete for the one and only Olympic bid from this tournament.
"We have to believe," Doncic said. "We know we're not favorites, but we have to believe until the end... I often say that you learn a lot from such matches. Like I said, I came into the game with no energy, so it wasn't fair to my team. I fixed it today..."
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