Jokic is stunned! 33 points + 29 points! Two NBA stars in an epic duel

What?

In the round of 16, Serbia was defeated 86-92 by Finland, thus missing out on the quarterfinals...

Serbia was the top contender for the EuroBasket title before the competition began, and despite their outside star Bogdanovic playing only two games before injury, they were still considered second only to Germany. Yet now Finland has blocked their path to the quarterfinals, which is a massive shock.

In this game, Jokic played about 34 minutes, shooting 9 of 13 from the field, making 14 of 19 free throws, scoring 33 points with 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block, committing only 2 turnoverswhich is nearly flawless, but the loss remains a fact; Heat forward Jovic also performed well, shooting 7 of 13, contributing 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists with all-around stats.

Both NBA players gave their all, yet Serbia still got dominated on the court by their opponent—simply put, the other teammates failed to step up, with no one else scoring in double digits to share the responsibility.

On the other hand, Finland did not rely solely on Markkanen; four of their starting five scored in double digits. Of course,Markkanen was undeniably the main hero of the win, shooting 8 of 24 from the field, 12 of 13 from the free throw line, exploding for 29 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 stealsthough his roughly 33% shooting percentage was a bit low.

Back to Jokic, his EuroBasket journey this year has ended. He averaged 27 minutes per game with 22.3 points, 9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.8 steals, shooting 66.2%, 33.3%, and 83.3% respectively in the three categories. By the next EuroBasket in 2029, he will be 34 years old, and as long as he wants, he can definitely still play and maintain at least NBA All-Star level.

According to statistics, Jokic has never experienced winning a title with the national team; the details are as follows:

2016 Rio Olympics, silver medal;

2022 EuroBasket, round of 16;

2024 Paris Olympics, bronze medal;

2025 EuroBasket, round of 16.

It seems the NBA is easier to succeed in; Jokic led the Nuggets to the championship and earned the Finals MVP in the 2022-23 season. Unlike in FIBA, limited by Serbia's overall strength, it's not only hard to reach gold, but they also occasionally face major upsets.

So far, the teams that have advanced to the quarterfinals are Turkey, awaiting the winner of Bosnia and Poland; Lithuania, awaiting the winner of Greece and Israel; Germany, awaiting the winner of Italy and Slovenia; Finland, awaiting the winner of Georgia and France.