Stars shine bright: Giannis, Luka, Jokic lead the way at EuroBasket

MILAN: The stars showed up at EuroBasket on Tuesday in a big way.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 41 points in 27 minutes for Greece, Luka Doncic had 36 points for Slovenia and two-time reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic scored 29 points for Serbia — three of the world’s best players all leading their teams to big group-stage wins at the European championships.

There’s one more group-stage game left for each to play, and then a trip to Berlin awaits since Greece, Slovenia and Serbia have all clinched spots in the 16-team knockout round that begins Saturday.

Antetokounmpo’s point total was the most in a EuroBasket game since Dirk Nowitzki had 43 for Germany in 2001. And when he heard that stat, all Antetokounmpo did was nod.

“I try not to rate my performance,” Antetokounmpo said. “I just try to go out there and have fun as much as possible, try to focus as much as I can on what I can control, try to bring energy any way possible. ... But I’ll say this: I think this is one of the years where I feel very, very excited to go out there on the court and play with my teammates.”

As Antetokounmpo did, Doncic also deflected credit after the game. Told that Germany’s postgame reaction was “Luka Doncic happened,” Doncic replied by saying “Slovenia happened.” 

“The whole team was ready,” Doncic said. “Everybody who stepped on the court was fighting, whether they played one minute or 30. I’m really proud of this team.”

Doncic was asked after the game if he or Antetokounmpo was in a better position to break the EuroBasket single-game scoring record.

Doncic didn’t hesitate with his answer: He picked Antetokounmpo.

“I would bet on Giannis,” Doncic said. “Why? Because he’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.”

GROUP C

GREECE 99 UKRAINE 79

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