Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo put on a show in Belgrade as Serbia beat Greece 100-94 in overtime in the FIBA WC qualifiers:
Nikola Jokic leads the Serbian National team (2-3) to an important victory over Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Greece (3-2) in the World Cup 2023 qualifiers game with a final score of 100-94 (31-25, 20-19, 19-19, 17-24, 13-7).
In a duel between two NBA superstars, Serbia kept their chances alive to qualify for the 2023 World Cup after defeating Greece, despite the 40-point performance by Giannis Antetokounmpo, which is his career high with the national team.
With 2 minutes left in the overtime, Giannis Antetokounmpo reduced Greece’s deficit to 3 points (95-92) after converting on a layup, but in the final two minutes Greece struggled to score and came up short.
In the overtime, Jokic scored two consecutive baskets over Giannis Antetokounmpo to give Serbia a 6-point lead (95-89) with 2:57 left on the game clock. With 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Tyler Dorsey hit a clutch 3-pointer to tie the game (87-87).
With 53 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Nick Calathes converted on a floater to cut Serbia’s lead down to 3 points (87-84).
Thanasis Antetokounmpo kept Greece’s hopes to win the game alive with 1:23 left in the fourth quarter by hitting a 3-pointer to reduce the deficit to 5 points (87-82). Ognjen Jaramaz hit a crucial 3-pointer with 2:09 left in the fourth quarter after Jokic’s offensive rebound to give Serbia an 8-point lead (84-76).
With four minutes left in the final quarter, Thanasis Antetokounmpo stole the ball and assisted his brother Giannis for a fast-break layup to reduce the deficit to 3 points (79-76). With 7:12 left in the third quarter, after Jokic’s layup, Serbia has gained a double-digit lead (60-50) for the first time in the game.
Greece did fight back and after Tyler Dorsey’s 3-pointer with 5:56 left in the quarter reduced Serbia’s lead back to 5 points (60-55). Throughout the second quarter, Serbia kept their single-digit advantage, but both teams had their key players injured.
Vasilije Micic and Kostas Antetokounmpo, both suffered injuries during the second quarter and did not return rest of the game. Ognjen Jaramaz beat the first quarter’s game clock to give Serbia a 6-point advantage (31-25) after the first quarter.
Jokic:
29 points 11/16 FG 2/3 3FG 5/10 FT 8 rebounds 6 assists 1 steal
Giannis:
40 points 14/25 FG 2/7 3FG 10/14 FT 8 rebounds 5 assists 2 steals