Nikola Jokic Scores 39, Wows Fans as Serbia Beats Porzingis, Latvia in EuroBasket
Nikola Jokić took some time off from his offseason passion, horse racing, to absolutely annihilate Latvia on Sunday.
The Denver Nuggets big man was unstoppable in the EuroBasket matchup, putting up 39 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals in Serbia's 84-80 win.
He out-dueled fellow NBA big man Kristaps Porziņģis, who put up 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks for Latvia. Dāvis Bertāns added 16 points and 10 boards.
Serbia needed every last point from Jokić, as Latvia made a late push in the fourth quarter to make things tight. And the Nuggets' big man didn't have a ton of help from his teammates, with former Gonzaga forward Filip Petrušev (12 points) providing the most support.
It was a Jokić masterclass, in other words, and basketball fans were once again left in awe of the Serbian big man:
Serbia is now a perfect 3-0 in Group A play and sits in first place, though Turkey are 2-0 and could yet pull even. Serbia still has matchups against Czech Republic and Turkey remaining.
Latvia is now 1-2 in the tournament and will close out the group stage desperately needing wins against Portugal and Czech Republic.
Germany is currently the only other country to start EuroBasket 3-0, led by Dennis Schröder, Franz Wagner and Daniel Theis.
