Lauri Markkanen powers Finland over Israel to stay at top of Group / News - Basketnews.com

Lauri Markkanen pushes Finland past Israel with a 28-point performance to give Finland its sixth win in the World Cup 2023 European qualifiers group J.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Lauri Markkanen delivers another amazing performance with Finland national team's jersey to power his team with a 28-point performance over Israel with a final score of 79-73 (22-19, 25-18, 11-19, 21-17) in the World Cup 2023 European qualifiers Group J.

Player of the Game EFF 23 Lauri Markkanen Points 28 Accuracy 9-22 Rebounds 9 Assists 0

Finland (6-1) stays at the top of Group J after the win, solidifying their chances to qualify for the 2023 World Cup, while Israel (3-4) complicates their chances even further.

Markkanen converted on a 3-point play and gave Finland a 4-point lead with 1:24 left in the game. Israel did not manage to score for the rest of the final quarter and Finland was victorious.

With 1:33 left in the fourth quarter, Roman Sorkin scored with a dunk to leave Finland just a 1-point advantage (74-73).

Finland started the fourth quarter stronger, and after Petteri Koponen's 3-pointer, with 7:47 left in the game, increased Finland's lead to 7 points (65-58).

Israel had a more successful third quarter and managed to close the gap to a 2-point deficit (58-56) with 38 seconds left in the quarter after Tomer Ginat converted on a layup.

Finland had a lead for most of the first half, but their 12-2 run to end the second quarter gave them a 10-point lead (47-37) before the half-break.

Finland was led by Lauri Markkanen, who finished the game with 28 points (7/16 2PT, 2/6 3PT, 8/10 FT), 9 rebounds, and 2 steals.

For Israel, Roman Sorkin had 14 points (5/7 2PTS, 4/6 FT), 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist, and 1 steal.

Finland: Lauri Markkanen 28 (9 REB), Elias Valtonen 14 (6 REB), Petteri Koponen 8, Mikael Jantunen 6 (5 REB), Sasu Salin 6 (5 REB);

Israel: Roman Sorkin 14 (8 REB), Nimrod Levi 13 (4 REB), Yam Madar 11, Deni Avdija 8 (4 REB), Tamir Blatt 8 (4 AST).

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