Nikola Jokić and Serbia are emphatically showing why the Eagles are the biggest threats to the USA in the FIBA World Cup.
In the second game of the group stage, No. 2-ranked Serbia (2-0) surged past the Philippines in a 126-67 victory. Jokić was one of the catalysts of the dominant showing as he nearly had a triple-double with 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. The first-team All-NBA center was perfect from both the floor and the charity stripe as he hit 5 of 5 field goals and was 4 of 4 from the line. Jokić finished the game with the highest plus/minus of the game at +40. The Sacramento Kings’ Nemanja Bjelica was the game-high scorer with 20 points and he was also perfect from the floor – shooting 7-of-7.
Jokić wasn’t the only Nuggets player to see his team go 2-0 in the FIBA World Cup as Juancho Hernangómez and Spain edged Puerto Rico 73-63. Spain, one of the tournaments’ favorites had a difficult time putting Puerto Rico away in a closely contested game. La Roja would use a strong 21-10 third quarter to get some distance from their opponents and would hold on to win after Puerto Rico outscored them in the fourth quarter. Hernangómez had eight points and five rebounds on 50 percent shooting and former Nugget Renaldo Balkman played 29 minutes in the game, finishing with six points, three rebounds and a block. Toronto Raptors center Marc Gasol led all scorers with 19 points and added seven boards.