Germany comfortably beats Slovenia as Doncic suffers an injury scare / News - Basketnews.com

Luka Doncic seemed to have injured his ankle in the third quarter but later came back and finished the match as Germany comfortably beat Slovenia 90-71.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Germany (7-1) dominated throughout the second half and captured a well-deserved victory against favorite Slovenia (5-3) 90-71 (17-20, 16-11, 28-15, 29-25) in the Second Round of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.

Player of the Game EFF 22 Johannes Voigtmann Points 11 Accuracy 4-9 Rebounds 14 Assists 2

Slovenia started the game on a better note, beginning the first quarter with an 11-3 run. Luka Doncic was the undisputed leader on the court, being involved in most of the scoring possessions.

However, the Germans did not back down and kept a close distance from Slovenia throughout the entirety of the first half. Following a Christian Sengfelder triple, Germany even led by five (29-24) but the away squad closed the deficit a bit and the teams headed to their locker rooms separated by just two (33-31).

Germany took advantage of their superiority in the paint in the second half. At one point in the third quarter, the home team had as many offensive rebounds as Slovenia's number of total rebounds.

The third quarter also featured an injury scare. Luka Doncic suddenly collapsed while dribbling the ball with just under 5 minutes to go in the quarter, grabbing his ankle afterward. However, the Dallas Mavericks superstar walked it off and later came back to the match and finished the game.

Slovenia looked slower and less determined in the vast majority of possessions which led to Germany winning the third quarter by 13 (28-15). Although Slovenia tried to battle back in the fourth quarter, the deficit was too much to overcome and the Germans celebrated a well-deserved victory.

Dennis Schroder led Germany in scoring with 17 points on a 6-for-15 shooting. Interestingly, his first points came in only in the third quarter in two made free throws. Additionally, the free agent NBA guard dished out 10 assists to complete a double-double.

Another NBA talent, Orlando Magic's Franz Wagner contributed with 16 points and 7 rebounds.

Luka Doncic was a one-man band on the other side of the court. The superstar guard scored 23 points on 7-for-16 shooting, grabbed 6 rebounds, and dished out 5 assists but turned the ball over 4 times. Only two players scored in double digits with Mike Tobey providing 12 points.

Overall, Germany won the rebounding battle 56 to 27 and did not allow Slovenia to score a single second-chance point in the entire match. Goran Dragic noticeably struggled, especially during the first half when he missed all of his shots and had a PIR of -5.

Germany: Dennis Schroder 17 (4/9 2PT, 2/6 3PT, 3/3 FT, 10 AST), Franz Wagner 16 (5/7 2PT, 2/8 3PT, 7 REB), Andreas Obst 13 (2/4 3PT), Johannes Voigtmann 11 (3/7 3PT, 14 REB, 24 PIR).

Slovenia: Luka Doncic 23 (4/9 2PT, 3/7 3PT, 6/11 FT, 6 REB, 5 AST), Mike Tobey 12 (6/8 2PT, 5 REB).

Dennis Schroder's performance:

Full game highlights:

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