On September 2, Beijing time, in the group stage of Group B of the European Championship, Slovenia defeated Lithuania 92-85 to win the team's first victory. Doncic contributed 14 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds, and he didn't feel good in this game, shooting 4-of-14 from the field, and Toby scored a game-high 24 points. Slovenia led 51-48 in the first half, and Lithuania briefly overtook the score in the fourth quarter, but in the end Doncic and Dragic led the team to stabilize the situation and win by seven points. Lone Ranger boss Cuban watched from the sidelines, and Doncic hugged him to celebrate after winning the victory.
Statistics
Slovenia: Doncic 14 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals, Toby 24 points and 8 rebounds, Dragic 19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, Bražic 14 points, Chanchar 11 points
Lithuania: Kuzminskas 19 points, Grigonis 18 points, Sabonis Jr. 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals, Valanciunas 9 points and 12 rebounds
Best of the Game: Toby
Doncic didn't feel good, but his teammate Toby stepped forward. Toby scored a game-high 24 points on 11-of-17 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds.
Game tidbits
Lone Ranger boss Cuban watched from the sidelines, and Doncic hugged him after winning the victory. Kuban said in an interview that he has a quarter of Lithuanian ancestry and that he would have cheered on Lithuania if it were not for Doncic.
Game review
In the first quarter, Sa Jr. made a layup for Lithuania, and Doncic and Chanchar scored three consecutive points and also scored color. Varan Juniors scored inwards, with Bražic hitting a three-pointer, Toby scoring five points in a row and Slovenia leading by six. Lithuania played an offensive climax and equalized the opponent. The first quarter ended with Slovenia drawing 27-27 with Lithuania.
In the second quarter, Slovenia came off the bench to lead by five points again. Varan controlled the rebound, and both sides fell into a scoring drought. Toby scored on a layup, also blocked Sa, Doncic assisted teammates in succession to score, Toby completed a dunk, and Jokubatis hit a three-pointer. At half-time, Slovenia led Lithuania 51-48.
Yi Bian fought again, Grigonis scored 5 points in a row, and Lithuania surpassed Slovenia. Doncic assisted Toby and Blažic in succession, with the two sides leading alternately. Chanchar hit three-point shots, Toby and Doncic sent consecutive dunks, Bražic scored on a layup, Slovenia led by 7 points, Kuzminskas made consecutive shots, narrowed the point gap, and ended in the third quarter, Slovenia led Lithuania 69-67.
In the final quarter, Kuzminskas hit a three-pointer, Sassa Jr. scored, and Lithuania countered with five points. Doncic assisted Onchar and Toby scored on layups. Dragic hit a three-pointer and Slovenia regained the lead at a crucial moment in the final quarter. Sa Jr. fouled and Doncic hit a free throw to widen the point difference. Dragic's layup ended the suspense and in the end, Slovenia beat Lithuania 92-85.
Both sides started
Slovenia: Doncic, Nikolic, Bražić, Chanchar, Toby
Lithuania: Chokubatis, Grigonis, Butkevicius, Sabonis The Younger, Valanciunas