Deni Avdija had his most prolific performance yet in Poland.
But it wasn’t enough to lead Israel to a victory.
Luka Doncic fell one assist shy of a triple-double and Slovenia won its third consecutive outing in Group D play, defeating Avdija and Israel 106-96 on Thursday at the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 tournament in Katowice, Poland.
Despite the defeat, Israel (3-2) — which finished tied for second with Slovenia (3-2) in Group D — clinched a spot in the 16-team knockout round, which is scheduled for this weekend.
But it was Doncic and Slovenia that delivered a knockout on Thursday.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ All-Star finished with 37 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists, three steals and one block, producing one of the most impressive individual performances at the international tournament. His step-back three-pointer with 2:22 remaining gave Slovenia a 101-87 edge and proved to be the dagger, locking the country’s first win over Israel in EuroBasket play.
“We gave everything, but Slovenia played better tonight,” Avdija told reporters.
Avdija certainly did his part, recording 34 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals. It was the fifth time in five Group D games that the Portland Trail Blazers’ small forward scored 20 or more points. He’s averaging 24.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals heading into the knockout round.
The 16-game championship round will be announced later Thursday.
Here are highlights from the game:
—Joe Freeman is a senior writer at The Oregonian/OregonLive covering the Trail Blazers and NBA. Reach him at 503-294-5183,jfreeman@oregonian.com,@BlazerFreeman or@freemanjoe.bsky.social.
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