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Luka Doncic punches Slovenia’s ticket to next EuroBasket round with 42-point masterpiece
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- Luka Doncic punches Slovenia’s ticket to next EuroBasket round with 42-point masterpiece
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The post Luka Doncic punches Slovenia's ticket to next EuroBasket round with 42-point masterpiece appeared first on ClutchPoints .
Los Angeles Lakers superstar and Slovenia's torchbearer at EuroBasket 2025 Luka Doncic lit up Xiaomi Arena in Riga, Latvia, with a masterful 42-point display against Italy. Doncic, who leads EuroBasket 2025 in scoring, steals and overall efficiency, gave his team a scare after just 36 seconds on the clock.
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He took a hard fall to his right after bumping into Alessandro Pajola and was visibly affected at points during the game. Doncic even went for treatment after the first quarter but was firmly on the money throughout.
Luka finished with 42 points , 10 rebounds and three steals. He converted five of his 11 3-pointers, went 11-of-19 from the field overall and converted 15 of his 16 free throws. Italy did well to keep up after a disastrous first quarter and even got the score down to 78-77 late in the fourth quarter.
However, Slovenia, who saw Klemen Prepelic come off the bench to score 11, took the game away late to earn an 84-77 victory. Asked afterwards if he "felt fine," Doncic was confident.
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"Yeah. Yes, it hurts. I have to go get therapies now. But it will be fine," he said, via BasketNews, with head coach Aleksander Sekulic apparently left unaware about his treatment in the quarter break.
"He told me that he needs to go to the toilet. Maybe there was another reason, but that's what he told me," he said.
Doncic has averaged 34.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 3.2 steals in the tournament thus far. Slovenia will now face one of the strongest teams in the tournament thus far in the form of Franz Wagner and Dennis Schroder's Germany.
However, they will take confidence in the fact that the tournament has already seen two major upsets. France and Serbia have both been eliminated in the first knockout stage, and Doncic has been the best player at the competition thus far.
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Germany booked their quarterfinal spot with a dominant 85-58 win over Portugal. Wagner finished with 16 points, five assists and seven rebounds, while Schroder also scored 16. Germany has yet to lose in the tournament but will now take on their biggest test in the form of Doncic's Slovenia.
Related: Luka Doncic passes Drazen Petrovic in EuroBasket history
Related: Luka Doncic suffers injury scare after monster EuroBasket 1st quarter
