Magic's Goga Bitadze, Georgia Blown Out vs. Luka Doncic, Slovenia

Orlando Magic center Goga Bitadze and Georgia could not overcome the dominance from Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic and Slovenia.

OKINAWA, Japan — Georgia is on the brink of elimination at the FIBA World Cup with an 88-67 loss to Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic and Slovenia. Doncic led all scorers, finishing with 36 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and three steals.

Slovenia jumped out to a 12-2 lead as of the 4:53 mark of the opening period. Doncic scored the team's first 10 points, then recorded an assist on a transition spray-ahead pass. Slovenia has shrunk the floor defensively very effectively in the half-court to force turnovers. With Georgia being limited on perimeter shooting threats, Slovenia's defensive approach proved effective.

Georgia rallied back and ultimately overtook the lead using a made 3-pointer from San Antonio Spurs forward Sandro Mamukelashvili, ending the period with a 17-16 advantage. Doncic had recorded 12 points and two assists. With a physical matchup, He was sent to the line often, shooting 8-11 on free throws to this point.

Doncic went to Slovenia's sideline with a 29-28 lead at the 6:22 mark of the second quarter. A strong stretch from Klemen Prepelic extended Slovenia's advantage with him drawing a foul on a 3-point attempt, and Georgia's coach getting called for a technical foul. He made all four free throws, then came down for a made 3 on the next possession. Slovenia extended its lead to 40-32 as the opening half had begun to wind down.

Doncic checked back into the game with Slovenia having extended the lead by seven compared to when he first checked out for rest. They went to work quickly to extend the advantage, with Doncic finding Mike Tobey in the paint after passing out of what step-back 3, then driving the lane for and-one on the following possession. Slovenia achieved a game-high 13-point edge and went into the half leading 45-33.

Georgia scored the initial seven points out of the break, but Slovenia withstood the initial run. A common defensive approach by Georgia was to simply switch against ball screening actions when the situation called for it. Orlando Magic center Goga Bitadze guarded Doncic for a handful of possessions and did get a few stops.

Doncic adjusted by attacking a mismatch out of the post for a few plays for turnaround jumpers. However, a made 3-pointer by Prepelic extended the lead to 13 with 2:38 left in the third quarter. Slovenia managed to sustain a double-figure advantage for the remainder of the period, leading 63-50 to begin the fourth quarter thanks to a buzzer-beater 3 from Gregor Hrovat. Doncic already racked up 29 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists.

There was an emphasis from Georgia to pressure Doncic by trying to double at times, but largely by trying to shrink the floor to protect the paint on drives. Doncic and Slovenia's offense picked it apart by being unselfish with passing to the open man and received timely shotmaking from 3 to capitalize.

After Slovenia had begun to exploit Georgia's defensive approach to load up on Doncic, there was a reversion back to a more straight up strategy on switches. Doncic took advantage of that by breaking down Bitadze in space to setup a step-back 3 that he knocked down, extending Slovenia's lead to a new game-high 22 points. The game had reached the point of no return for Georgia as the team never came within single-digits again.

Bitadze and Georgia face off against Venezuela in the final game of the opening stage of the tournament. Tipoff is set for 4:00 a.m. Wednesday on ESPN+.

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Grant Afseth is an NBA reporter primarily covering the Dallas Mavericks, but also the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, and Orlando Magic for FanNation, as well as the league at larger for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group.

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