Luka Doncic pushes Slovenia past Sweden with Nowitzki in attendance / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Luka Doncic showed his basketball wizardry once again to push the Slovenian national team (4-2) past a resilient Sweden (2-4) 84-81 (22-17, 19-24, 29-20, 14-20).

Luka Doncic

Team:Dallas MavericksPosition:SGAge:23Height:201 cmWeight:99 kgBirth place:Ljubljana, SloveniaProfileNewsStatistics

Sweden had several chances to capture the win but missed both of their opportunities. With 30 seconds to go, Sweden had the ball with the ability to pull in front as the team was trailing by only a single point (81-82).

During a chaotic inbounds play, the home squad ultimately captured the ball but Ludvig Hakanson's shot was blocked by Zoran Dragic. With Doncic with the ball, he threw an ill-advised pass that was intercepted by Melwin Pantzar. However, a three-pointer from the corner by Pelle Larsson was not good, and Slovenia edged out a win.

Doncic finished the game with 31 points on 10-for-20 shooting, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out 6 assists, and stole 2 balls while committing 5 turnovers to collect 32 PIR points.

The entire match was a back-and-forth fight between the teams with Slovenia continuously trying to pull away but Sweden constantly pushing back.

With Dirk Nowitzki in attendance and great support from the Swedish fans, the home squad was in the game throughout the entirety of the match. Whenever Slovenia gained a more sizeable lead, Sweden pushed back every single time.

Besides Doncic, Goran Dragic scored 20 points in his last game wearing the Slovenian national team uniform on 6-for-13 shooting for 13 PIR to help the Dallas Mavericks superstar lead the team.

Ludwig Hakanson was the top scorer on Sweden's team with 24 points on 7-for-18 shooting, 4 rebounds, and 9 assists for 24 PIR.

Slovenia finished the first round of the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers in 2nd place in Group C with Finland on top of the order.

Sweden got their lucky break in the other matchup of the group as Croatia dramatically lost to Finland, marking the end of Croatia's journey in the World Cup Qualifiers.

Sweden: Ludwig Hakanson 24 (4/8 2PT, 3/10 3PT, 7/7 FT, 4 REB, 9 AST, 3 TO, 24 PIR), Simon Birgander 15 (6/8 2PT, 7 REB, 21 PIR).

Slovenia: Luka Doncic 31 (6/9 2PT, 4/11 3PT, 7/9 FT, 10 REB, 6 AST, 5 TO, 32 PIR), Goran Dragic 20 (3/6 2PT, 3/7 3PT, 5/6 FT).

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