Jokic Scores Triple-Double To Bring Serbia Bronze
NBA star Nikola Jokic recorded a triple-double as Serbia beat Germany 93-83 in the men's basketball medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Saturday (10/8) night, as well as avenge Serbia's defeat to Germany in the 2023 FIBA World Cup final.
Jokic, who has won the NBA MVP three times, contributed 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists to lead Serbia to a bronze medal, after they suffered a dramatic defeat in the semifinals against the United States.
The Denver Nuggets star previously did not strengthen his country in the 2023 Basketball World Cup which was held in Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Serbia's defeat in the FIBA World Cup final last year with a score of 83-77 bringing Germany to the title for the first time. However, Jokic's presence in Paris this time ensured Serbia took third place on the Olympic podium.
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This is the second Olympic medal for Jokic who previously won silver with the Serbian team at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Bogdan Bogdanovic who scored 16 points was also part of the team.
Vasilije Micic also performed brilliantly by contributing 19 points and a total of six Serbian players recorded double-digit scores in the matches they had mastered from the start.
"Winning a bronze medal at the Olympics is a big achievement," Bogdanovic was quoted as saying by AFP. "Of course there is a little sadness over the defeat against the US, but we cannot go back in time. We can only be proud of what we achieved today."
On the German side, Franz Wagner leads the score with 18 points, followed by his brother, Moritz Wagner, who contributed 16 points. Meanwhile, Dennis Schroder, the player who became their winning hero at the 2023 World Cup, was only able to score 13 points.
"Everyone is clearly disappointed," Schroder said. "We're all not happy right now, but we're going to look forward."
Serbia took the lead 46-38 in the first half and increased their lead to 19 points in the third quarter, despite Germany's hard efforts to stay in the game.
After losing a 13-point lead in the last quarter against the US, Serbia made sure there was no equal failure this time by preventing Germany from winning their first Olympic medal in basketball.