Jusuf Nurkic, Bosnia and Herzegovina Upset Slovenia and Luka Doncic

The Bosnia and Herzegovina national team, featuring Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic, is on a roll at EuroBasket 2022. Facing off against tournament-favorite Slovenia and NBA superstar Luka Doncic earlier today, the underdogs pulled off a massive 97-93 upset win.

Bosnia and Herzegovina trailed for most of the game, but outscored the reigning EuroBasket champs 25-20 in the fourth quarter to capture the win.

Nurkic struggled on the offensive end, shooting 3-13 from the field (1-4 3PT), but still produced 12 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists in 30 minutes. The Bosnian Beast also shot a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line, including two clutch free throws in the final four minutes.

While Nurkic didn’t play his most efficient game, his teammates shined. Point guard John Roberson scored a game-high 23 points, shooting 7-13 from distance and forward Dzanan Musa tallied 22 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds.

Bosnia and Herzegovina snapped Slovenia’s 11-game EuroBasket winning streak dating back to 2017 and handed Doncic his first EuroBasket loss ever. The three-time All-Star had a mediocre performance by his extraordinary standards, producing 16 points, 8 assists and 8 rebounds. He shot 8-18 from the floor, including 0-8 from beyond the arc.

Doncic’s teammate, Chicago Bulls veteran point guard Goran Dragic, put up 20 points and 6 assists in the loss.

The result comes three days after Bosnia and Herzegovina captured its first EuroBasket win since 2015 with a 95-85 win against Hungary. The national team (2-1 in tournament play) now moves into second place in Group B behind Germany. Slovenia (2-1) drops to fourth-place. Group B has been nicknamed “the Group of Death” because it features tournament heavyweights Slovenia, Germany and France. But so far, Bosnia and Herzegovina is wading through the dangerous waters quite well.

After the game, Nurkic and his teammates celebrated the upset by singing with their fans.