Mavericks' Luka Doncic Shines in Slovenia's Victory Over Brazil in Exhibition Match

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic finished with 32 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists while guiding the Slovenian national team to a victory over Brazil in Ljubljana.

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LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic competed in his first match with the Slovenian national team, helping guide the team to an 86-78 victory. After this match, the team will continue preparation for the pre-Olympic qualifier tournament held in Piraeus, Greece, from July 2 to 7.

“It is always an honor when I play for Slovenia,” Doncic said after Friday's practice. “Whenever I can, I will play. I’ve been saying this all the time. It was really hard to decide to play now, because of the injuries and the length of the season, but here I am. It is an honor for me to be here.”

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After last competing in an organized game, Game 5 of the NBA Finals on June 18, Doncic wanted to use this game to build a rhythm. He scored 32 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in 31 minutes. He shot 11 of 19 from the floor, 1 of 8 from the perimeter, 9 of 11 from inside the arc, and 8 of 13 on free throws. He only turned it over once but drew 11 personal fouls.

"Doncic said before the game that he wanted as many minutes as possible to get back into rhythm," Slovenia coach Aleksander Sekulic said. "Although he recently played in the NBA Finals, he has an incredible desire to compete and prove himself.''

Before this game, Doncic only had one full practice consisting of five-on-five action after joining the team. Slovenia intends to continue building chemistry within a limited time before the team departs for Piraeus. The team sees various important areas to fine-tune after defeating Brazil. He stepped right into a game against an opponent eager to mix in various aggressive approaches, like blitzing, playing up to the level in ball screen coverage and switching, and picking him up full-court, providing an environment that felt like a regular game for him.

"The victory before going to Piraeus is very welcome, but we are aware that we are running out of time for additional practice," Sekulic said. "In the training sessions that await us, we want to polish certain details so that we will be as diverse and unpredictable as possible for our competitors."

Slovenia struggled to control the paint early on. Christian Felicio, a center who previously played six seasons with the Chicago Bulls, scored 8 points early. Brazil held a double-figure lead at one point, but Doncic began to settle Slovenia into the game, reducing the deficit to 18-12 at the end of the opening period. Brazil used creativity in forcing Slovenia into drop coverage situations, which created favorable scoring chances early in the game, followed by an adjustment from Slovenia to utilize more switching.

Doncic settled the offense into the game by taking over in pick-and-roll, whether in regular high pick-and-roll. He also took advantage of chances to push the pace in transition, whether by making a throw-ahead pass as he did to Zoran Dragic for a layup or by attacking early in the possession. Before Doncic went to the bench, Slovenia had often rallied to cut the deficit to just 26-24 by leveraging double-drag screens, including a play that came off a pindown after playing in the corner to create a drive and finish. He was in a rhythm by this point, using a one-legged jumper and a flashy layup that involved a slow step before a scoop finish. He totaled 13 points, four rebounds, and four assists already at this point.

READ MORE: Doncic to Lead Slovenia NT at Olympic Qualifier: 'It's an Honor'

Slovenia continued the momentum it had established despite Doncic being on the bench. At one point, the team achieved a 36-30 advantage, with jump shots beginning to fall at a high rate. After establishing this lead, Doncic checked back into the game and guided the team down the stretch to a 41-37 advantage entering halftime. He already scored 15 points after using a one-legged jumper down the stretch.

Coming out of halftime, there was an emphasis on moving Doncic around the half-court more, including by giving him a post touch, leading to a kickout for a made 3-pointer. With Vlatko Cancar making a turnaround jumper, Slovenia's offense was clicking while flashing talent the team lacked in the FIBA World Cup due to injuries. Doncic then rejected a screen from Josh Nebo to slice through the defense for a scoop finish.

At one point, Doncic's squad built a 48-37 edge. He began to heat up from beyond, using a behind-the-back move after coming off a screen in pick-and-roll, setting up a step-back to get back behind the arc. The move shifted the defender due to his impressive ability to decelerate and change directions.

"Perhaps we were feeling a little tired after two matches against Lithuania, but luckily Luka Doncic was here, who made sure that we calmly brought the match to the end," Edo Muric said. "Doncic brought freshness and positive energy to the team, he is fun and communicative, a true leader on and off the pitch, so it's nice to be in his company.''

Doncic remained aggressive in pushing the pace and attacking the paint in the half-court. He leveraged a 3-on-2 in transition to create an easy finish kickstarted with a no-look pass. Doncic then used a screen from Nebo, who received a Wide action screen from Klemen Prepelic, to split a hedge and drive straight into a smaller defender on a contact finish for an and-one. He then put Brazil's defense in a bind using a shot fake after receiving a handoff from Nebo, delaying the big defender due to having to respect the potential shot, freeing a lob to Nebo for a dunk.

With Slovenia coming up empty offensively for a stretch, Brazil cut Slovenia's advantage to 62-61 using a buzzer-beating turnaround jumper to end the third quarter. Slovenia was engaged in a tightly contested matchup to close it out after being up by as many as 11 points earlier in the frame.

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Doncic responded by posting up a smaller defender and attacking the middle for a floater while drawing contact, creating an and-one. However, he missed the free throw. Doncic got the free throw line again and split the attempts. What created momentum was using Nebo as a decoy in pick-and-roll by having him flip a screen and then slip, allowing Doncic to use his size and deceleration to create a step-back 3-pointer that he hit. Slovenia had built a 73-66 advantage midway through the final period.

Nebo displayed a growing connection with Doncic by holding a Gortat screen after Doncic had snaked into the gap with the on-ball defender sealed on his back, allowing the superstar guard to control his pace and finish. He reached 31 points on the night despite it being his first performance since Game 5 of the NBA Finals in Boston.

"Anytime you're playing with Luka and a skill set like Josh, there should be a good opportunity to connect," Mavericks assistant coach Sean Sweeney said, who is on Slovenia's coaching staff. "I like his explosiveness. His ability to catch and finish complements all the various things that Luka can do.

"I thought he did a good job as the game went on getting more comfortable and understanding kind of some of the concepts that are going on, especially when you're playing with a guy like Luka," Sweeney explained.

Slovenia's edge grew to as many as 13 points after Doncic pushed the pace in transition, resulting in a next pass to a corner three-point shooter before the make. Brazil had cut the lead to eight points at one point. Doncic received MVP chants from the home crowd as he made the second of two free throw attempts. He went to the bench with under two minutes left in regulation.

Sweeney commended Doncic's offensive impact. He looked like he never skipped a beat during his season with the Mavericks. Slovenia moved him around the half-court between some off-ball actions and post touches before he took over as a pick-and-roll ball handler.

"Today, you saw him in the post, you saw them in pick and rolls, coming off handoffs, off-ball screening actions, and able to score and distribute in all those areas," Sweeney said. "And even when he didn't get the ball, he still had a gravitational pull that allowed other guys to get opportunities."

The continued development of Doncic's defense contributed to Slovenia's ability to mix in switching against screens throughout this game, particularly to close the game. His big frame for a guard and his advanced comprehension of the game, coupled with his instincts, make him an impactful post-defender, allowing Slovenia to switch in ways other teams cannot.

"I think his IQ is really, really high. His ability to read the play as well as compete on the basketball is strong," Sweeney said of Doncic. "When you have that physical strength to go with that IQ to go with the ability to move your feet when you turn to switch more, especially like we did, I think they had only 11 points, four minutes to go in the fourth quarter, and that was predominantly us switching pick-and-roll and him on the weak side or him in different spots, using his IQ and then his physical gifts."

Slovenia played its final preparation match before the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament in Greece and will continue preparation in practice in the coming days. In the Group Phase, the team will face Croatia on July 2 and New Zealand on July 4.

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