While it was a struggle for a good portion of the game, Slovenia picked up its second win of EuroBasket on Tuesday, knocking off Iceland, 87-79. Paired with Belgium’s loss to Israel earlier in the day, the victory clinched Slovenia’s spot in the knockout rounds with one game still left to play.
It was easily Luka’s worst game of EuroBasket so far as he dealt with shooting struggles and foul trouble on the day. He finished with 26 points on 8-22 shooting, going just 2-10 from the 3-point line. He added
seven rebounds and four assists, but played just 32 minutes after finding himself in first-half foul trouble.
The first quarter was dominated by Luka’s offense in this one as he struggled to find his shot. As a result, Slovenia struggled against an Iceland team that was winless in its EuroBasket history.
He did open the game with an assist, finding his rolling big man for a rare alley-oop this tournamnet. He followed that up with a block on the defensive end as well. His first points would come at the free throw line, but he would pick up his second foul before he had his first field goal.
His steal and ensuing layup accounted for that initial made shot, but he made just one more in the period, converting on a floater to give Slovenia a 16-15 lead. The defining moment of the quarter and half came when Luka picked up his third foul on a very poor decision.
Serving as the help defender on the weakside, Luka attempted to draw a charge on a lob attempt but was well late on his rotation, instead being called for a blocking foul with 55 seconds left in the frame. With players fouling out after five, not six, fouls in FIBA play, it relegated Luka to the bench for most of the second quarter.
Without him, Slovenia used a tip-in at the buzzer to lead by one heading into the second frame, but foulnd themselves in a dog fight against Iceland. Slovenia rolled the dice by bringing Luka back into the game just past the midway part of the quarter.
Ultimately, it was a gamble that neither failed nor worked. Luka did not have any real direct impact on the game, but also did not pick up his fourth foul, either. Slovenia couldn’t gain any breathing room, either, as a late 3-pointer for Iceland made it a 36-35 lead for Slovenia at the break.
Luka split a pair of free throws to open the second half, but continued to struggle to find his shot. It wasn’t until the 6:46 mark of the quarter that he finally hit his first 3-pointer of the game, giving Slovenia a 44-38 advantage. On the immediate next possession, he pulled up for three in semi-transition and buried his second three of the game, forcing an Iceland timeout.
Around him, Slovenia was starting to put together a run as well. While Luka wasn’t scoring, the margin grew to 13 points, the largest of the game. A 3-point from Radovic at the end of the period made it a 14-point lead heading into the fourth.
After resting on the bench to start the fourth, Luka came in and knocked down a jumper right away to help Slovenia keep Iceland at arm’s length as they attempted to put together a rally. A steal and layup from Luka gave him 23 points on the day and restored Slovenia’s double-digit lead at 70-59.
Iceland, though, caught fire from three in the fourth quarter and back-to-back threes pulled them within five points. Luka found a teammate for a 3-pointer and another Slovenia long-range basket pushed it back to a nine-point lead.
Every Slovenia basket proved important as Iceland never cooled off in the period. An offensive foul from Luka was his fourth of the game and gave Iceland a chance to make it a one possession game with under two minutes remaining. However, consecutive turnovers kept Iceland from getting any closer.
Slovenia iced the game in a bizarre play where they connected on a corner 3-pointer, but were also called for an offensive foul for sticking a leg out on the shot. The basket counted, giving Slovenia an eight-point lead and while Iceland hit a pair of free throws as a result of the foul, Slovenia connected on another three-pointer with 30 seconds left that did end the game.
Slovenia is now 2-2 and will finish group play against Israel on Thursday at 8 a.m. PT.
