Magic Star Franz Wagner Struggles For Germany, Suffers Loss vs. Luka Doncic, Slovenia

Wagner comes out with his poorest performance in the tournament so far.

Jeremy Brener | Sep 6, 2022

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

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Orlando Magic

ORLANDO - Orlando Magic star Franz Wagner and the Germany national team (3-1) are sad following the team's first loss at EuroBasket 2022 at the hands of Dallas Mavericks All-Star Luka Doncic and Slovenia (3-1) on Tuesday afternoon.

Slovenia walked away with an 88-80 win to improve to 3-1 and emerges into a three-way tie with Germany and France atop the group with seven points apiece. All three teams have qualified for the knockout round, but now the teams are fighting for positioning within the group as it determines who each team will face in the Round of 16.

Wagner came into the game coming off a brilliant 32-point performance Sunday, but struggled today. The Magic second-year pro scored just eight points on 2-7 shooting from the floor. Meanwhile, for Slovenia, it was the Doncic show.

Doncic scored a game-high 36 points while grabbing 10 rebounds to pull out the win. From start to finish, the Mavericks point guard looked like the best player on the floor by a considerable margin. Germany simply had no answer for him.

Slovenia raced out to an early first-half lead and never relinquished it. Germany pulled within five points midway through the fourth quarter, but Slovenia was able to keep its opponent at bay.

Wagner and Germany will look to bounce back in their final pool play game against Hungary tomorrow afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. EST.

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Published Sep 6, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.