Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic and Slovenia had their work cut out for them after struggling through exhibition play in FIBA EuroBasket 2025. However, Doncic made his presence felt in group play to earn a spot in the knockout rounds as he looks to medal with his home country.
Heading into the Round of 16, Slovenia faced off against Italy, who had some notable NBA names in Danilo Gallinari and Simone Fontecchio. To begin this matchup, Doncic came out aggressive offensively, getting the Slovenians an early 29-11 lead after one.
He dropped 30 points in the first half to give Slovenia a double-digit lead, but Italy would fight back by winning the second quarter 29-21.
Doncic and Slovenia continued to put the pressure on in the second half and led wire to wire though, advancing to the quarterfinals with a 84-77 win, a complete turnaround after some early struggles.
Doncic proved to be too much for Italy as he finished with 42 points, 10 rebounds and three steals on 11-for-19 from the field and 5-for-11 from 3-point range.
Luka Magic ERUPTS for 42 PTS & 10 REB to lead Slovenia past Italy and advance to the #EuroBasket Quarter-Finals! pic.twitter.com/xkdq4Bjrfp
— FIBA EuroBasket (@EuroBasket) September 7, 2025
Getting downhill and to the free throw line appears to be an emphasis for Doncic in EuroBasket and that was again the case in this one, resulting in 16 trips to the charity stripe and making 15. Despite how competitive international play is today, Doncic remains able to will his team to a victory, which bodes well for the Lakers and the upcoming season.
The second leading scorer for Slovenia after Doncic was Klemen Prepelic with 11 points and no other player was in double figures. On the other side of things, Fontecchio led the way for Italy with 22 points while Saliou Niang chipped in 11 and Gallinari with 10 points.
Italy actually shot better than Slovenia from the field, but the difference was the offensive rebounds. Slovenia had 10 more shot attempts and in what was only an eight-point win.
If Doncic continues playing this way, it will be hard for any nation to beat them, but seeing how he is guarded moving forward is worth monitoring as well given his recent scoring outbursts.
What’s next for Luka Doncic and Slovenia
As mentioned, Slovenia is now in the quarterfinals where they will take on Germany. The Germans blew out Portugal in their Round of 16 game, so this will be a challenge for Luka Doncic and company. Slovenia and Germandy are expected to face off on Wednesday in what should be a fun contest.
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