Jokic’s career-high sends Serbia to Round of 16

RIGA (Latvia) – Nothing like hearing the MVP chants in a hostile environment! Nikola Jokic and Serbia fought through adversity after the team captain Bogdan Bogdanovic was ruled out with a hamstring injury, holding on to pick up an 84-80 win in front of 11,000 mostly Latvian fans.

The result takes them to 3-0 and secures their spot in the Round of 16 regardless of what happens in their remaining two Group A games in Riga. Tournament hosts Latvia, meanwhile, dropped to 1-2.

Turning Point

Serbia were up by 10 points or so for most of the game after their lefties Marko Guduric, Aleksa Avramovic and Ognjen Dobric combined for six three-pointers to add the outside threat for Serbia.

But with 1:45 to play, Davis Bertans knocked down a triple from way beyond the arc, cutting Latvia’s gap to just four points (75-79), and even when Jokic responded with a triple of his own, Latvia fired in a quick 5-0 run capped by Arturs Kurucs corner three that nearly blew the roof off of the arena in Riga.

At 82-80 with just under a minute to play, Jokic drew a foul and made both free throws. That was that, both teams failed to score in the remaining 40 seconds.

TCL Player of the Game

Latvia wanted to make Nikola Jokic a scorer instead of a facilitator, opting to defend him one-on-one, with Andrejs Grazulis for the first 90 seconds, then Kristaps Porzingis, Rolands Smits, and Klavs Cavars.

As you may imagine, the big guy has seen all sorts of defensive coverages, including that one, and just took advantage of all his matchups on the short roll and in the post.

The closest Latvia got to stopping him was when his elbow started bleeding after a nasty fall in the first half, forcing him to briefly leave the game.

But as soon as that was settled, he was back to his best. Jokic attempted 14 field goals in the first half alone, getting 19 points before the break, and continuing the torment in the second half, too.

He had 28 on 12-of-21 shooting by the end of the third quarter, and finished with 39 points, 10 rebounds and just 4 assists. Doesn’t matter, got the win anyway, prompting the aforementioned MVP chants from a loud group of Serbian fans behind their teams’ bench.

His previous career-high with the national team was 32 points, set against Italy in the Round of 16 in 2022.

Stats Don’t Lie

To have any chance against Serbia, especially with Bogdanovic out, you need to push them out of the painted area. Latvia could not do it, Serbia won the points in the paint stat 42-22.

Bottom Line

Serbia are now 3-0, certain of their spot in the Round of 16. That is, of course, just the first step to their goal here in Riga. Honorable mention: Filip Petrusev responding with 12 points after being disqualified early on in their previous game against Portugal.

For Latvia, there were a lot of positives despite the loss, with their offense finally resembling that flow we enjoyed so much in 2023.

They are now 1-2, with games against Portugal and Czechia coming up.

They Said

“Dobric cannot be Jokic. But Jokic cannot be Dobric, either.” – Serbia head coach Svetislav Pesic praising the reaction of Ognjen Dobric who knocked down two big threes after not playing at all in the first half

“Obviously, Jokic is the best player in the world.” – Davis Bertans, Latvia

For more quotes, tune in to the official post-game press conference!

FIBA