![\"Luka](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2228363695-e1756612893977.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Luka Doncic of Slovenia reacts during an international basketball game. <\/p>\n
Luka Don\u010di\u0107<\/a> turned in another dazzling performance for Slovenia, but even his near triple-double couldn\u2019t prevent a second straight defeat at EuroBasket. The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> star also pushed back against critics questioning the team\u2019s effort after Saturday\u2019s 103-95 loss to France.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat kind of criticism? We are fighting \u2014 we could be on the beaches and enjoying ourselves,\u201d Don\u010di\u0107 told Slovenian reporters<\/a>. \u201cI hope that as many people as possible support us. More than anything else, thank you to those who support us.\u201d<\/p>\n Slovenia Falters Late<\/p>\n Slovenia, which entered the tournament hoping to contend for a medal, stayed neck-and-neck with France until the closing minutes. The score was tied at 83 with 3:42 left before France went on a decisive 7-0 run in the span of 86 seconds. Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s 34 points, nine assists and eight rebounds kept Slovenia afloat for much of the night, but his frustration showed when he drew a technical foul in the final minute with France leading 96-89.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really fought,\u201d Don\u010di\u0107 said. \u201cIn the end, we gave up a little in the last two or three minutes, but we gave it our all. France is not an easy opponent. I told the guys that too, and we have to continue in this rhythm. Our opponents are scoring too many points. Our average points allowed is well over 100. Now the important thing is to keep winning, nothing else matters.\u201d<\/p>\n Francisco Sparks France<\/p>\n France got a breakout performance from backup point guard Sylvain Francisco, who poured in 32 points along with seven rebounds, five assists and two steals off the bench.<\/p>\n The French had five players in double figures, including Elie Okobo with 14. Rising NBA prospects Bilal Coulibaly<\/a> (13), Zaccharie Risacher<\/a> (12) and Alex Sarr<\/a> (12) chipped in as part of a balanced attack.<\/p>\n Slovenia, meanwhile, leaned heavily on Don\u010di\u0107. Outside of his production, only Edo Muric (16 points) and Klemen Prepelic (15) managed double-digit scoring.<\/p>\n Slovenia\u2019s Uphill Battle<\/p>\n Slovenia is now 0-2 in group play and faces a steep climb to advance. To reach the knockout rounds, it must win all three remaining games: against Belgium on Sunday, Iceland on Sept. 2 and Israel on Sept. 4.<\/p>\n Sportsbooks list Slovenia as an 11.5-point favorite against Belgium, according to Stakes<\/a>, a top-ranked U.S. sports betting website here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal is to get out of the group,\u201d Don\u010di\u0107 said. \u201cIn both matches so far, we have given our all. We are here to represent Slovenia and try to win. We will continue to fight. I think we have proven that we can do it. All the guys fought. We win and lose as a team. I made a lot of mistakes today and I know I can be much better. The analysis will be important, so we prepare as well as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s International Burden<\/p>\n The setback adds to the weight Don\u010di\u0107 carries as the centerpiece of Slovenian basketball. The 26-year-old guard has become one of the most accomplished international players of his generation, already a five-time NBA All-Star and Olympic standout.<\/p>\n Don\u010di\u0107 led Slovenia to its greatest basketball triumph in 2017 when it captured its first EuroBasket championship, though he played a supporting role to Goran Dragi\u0107 during that run. Since then, Slovenia has built its program around him, highlighted by a stirring fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.<\/p>\n This EuroBasket, however, has exposed the team\u2019s lack of depth. Slovenia is without key players Josh Nebo, Vlatko \u010can\u010dar, Jaka Bla\u017ei\u010d, and Zoran Dragi\u0107. That has left Don\u010di\u0107 with an even greater scoring and playmaking load \u2014 and opponents keying in on him every possession.<\/p>\n Still, Don\u010di\u0107 has thrived statistically. He scored 32 in the opener against Poland and followed with 34 against France, though both efforts ended in defeat. After hitting 17 free throws against Poland, he made 19 against France, which broke Spain\u2019s Juan Carlos Navarro\u2019s record of 18 in 2003.<\/p>\n Slovenia\u2019s hopes now rest on Don\u010di\u0107 finding a way to carry them through the group stage, a task that will require both offensive brilliance and improved team defense.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAlder Almo<\/a> is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 20 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Lakers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Luka Doncic of Slovenia reacts during an international basketball game. Luka Don\u010di\u0107 turned in another dazzling performance…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":109718,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-109717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}