In their match up with Serbia, guard Kostas Sloukas and Kostas Antetokounmpo both reported feeling knee discomfort. Although Sloukas was able to remain in the game, Antetokounmpo was not able to continue, having Te exit the game in the first half. Upon the team’s return to Athens from Belgrade, both players will undergo an MRI. Next up for Greece is a Sunday matchup in Athens against Belgium in more World Cup Qualifiers action. The status of Sloukas and Antetokoumpo are both unknown, as is also the case for forward Ioannis…
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FIBA World Cup: Serbia gets by Greece 100-94 in battle of MVPs
Serbia and Greece was a highly-anticipated matchup that featured teams led by the only two winners of the NBA MVP award over the past four years, in Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, and neither the current or the former MVPs disappointed and it was the Serbs who managed to claim victory, 100-94 in over time in front of a record crowd of 19,150. In his first official game with his national team since 2019 Giannis did not disappoint, turning in a monster performance I registering an international career-high of 40…
Read MoreFIBA World Cup: Markkanen’s 28 leads Finland past Israel
Finland got their second round shouted off on the right foot with a hard-fought 79-73 victory over Israel. Lauri Markkanen was big again, scoring 28 points, but the five he scored in the game’s final two minutes were critical to Finland securing the victory. A pair of free throws and a three-point play extended the Finnish lead from 73-71 to 77-73 with sixty-six seconds remaining in the contest. In losing effects, Roman Sorkin scored 14 and grabbed 8 rebounds, Nimrod Levi put in 13, and Yam Madar chipped in 11.…
Read MoreFIBA World Cup: Slovenia beats Estonia, 104-83
It was a night of easy work for the Slovenian national team as they cleaned up Estonia 104-83. In the first ten minutes of the game, Luka Dončić put a game’s worth of production for some players, racking up 10 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Dončić finished with a near triple-double with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. Goran Dragić turned in another strong performance with 19 points and Vlatko Cancar added 14 points. In a losing effort, Kerr Kriisa paced Estonia with 14 points. The win lifted…
Read MoreFIBA World Cup: Latvia smokes Turkey 111-85
Behind not shooting and a big game from Kristaps Porzingis, Latvia obliterated Turkey, 111-85. Kristaps Porzingis led all scorers with 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and Latvia connected on 20 of their 35 three-point attempts (57%) and led by as much as 31 points in the victory. Davis Bertans scored 17 points, knocking down 5 of his 7 three-point attempts. Rihards Lomazs chipped in 15 points, with Rolands Smits contributed 11. In a losing effort, Cedi Osman and Shane Larkin put in 15 points apiece.The loss drops Turkey to…
Read MoreFIBA World Cup News: France blows out Czech Republic, 95-60
France tipped off their second stage of 2023 World Cup Qualifiers in resounding fashion by laying a 95-60 smack down on the Czech Republic. Despite being without Tomas Satoransky, Jaromir Bohacik and Vit Krejci, the Czech Republic carried a 42-38 lead into the half, but the French defense choked out the Czech offense in the second half, only allowing 18 points. The Czech Republic were outscored 60-20 in the painted area and shot a frigid 35.5% from the field. The second half was delayed due to an issue with one…
Read MoreLakers and Jazz finalizing deal for Patrick Beverley
Patrick Beverley, the guy you want to have on your team, appears to be on the move again. The veteran guard who was part of the haul the Jazz got back in the Rudy Gobert trade, is returning to his old stumping grounds, but to the opposite locker room. According to reporting from Adrian Wojnarowski the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers are finalizing a deal that would bring Beverley to the purple and gold in exchange for Talen Horton – Tucker and Stanley Johnson. Last season Beverley averaged 9.2…
Read MoreFIBA World Cup News: Giannis in, Papagiannis and Papapetrou out for Serbia game
The Hellenic Basketball Federation announced their 12-man roster for their 2023 European World Cup Qualifier matchup against Serbia in Belgrade. One of those names listed that should be pleasing to Greek fans, and to a lesser extent Milwaukee Bucks fans, is Giannis Antetokounmpo. Back and knee soreness had limited Antetokounmpo to just two of Greece’s pre-competition friendly matchups, albeit he did show up big in those pair of games, averaging 27.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.5 steals per contest. However the squad will be without Panagiotis Kalaitzakis, Giannis…
Read MoreKyrie, KD and other NBAers putting in some work
With the speculation, at least for the time being, over where they will shooting NBA basketball this season, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, along with Trae Young, Victor Oladipo, Micheal Porter Jr, and some other professional basketballers took the hardwood to compare and improve their skills. Check out the brief video below via Through The Lens.
Read MoreKD is staying with the Nets
Kevin Durant ‘s trade request earlier this summer sent shock waves around the Association and his potential landing spot has been at the forefront of NBA discussions ever since. A recent weekend meeting with Nets owner Joe Tsai seemed to signal the two sides had potentially come to an impasse as reportedly Durant laid down an ultimatum of either him o. the pairing of head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks. After the meeting, Tsai came out in support of Nash and Marks, leading to speculation, that we…
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