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So much for an injured knee.
Luka Doncic showed no signs of the knee injury that sidelined him last week on Saturday (19 August), leading Slovenia to a 103-68 win over Japan in a FIBA World Cup 2023 warm-up friendly in Tokyo behind a cool 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
As with many teams who face him, Japan simply had no answer for Doncic and his surgical play in the 27 minutes he gave Slovenia, who led at each quarter.
Jaka Blazic added 18 points, Zoran Dragic 12 and Mike Tobey had a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards.
Doncic did not speak to reporters after the game, but Slovenia coach Aleksander Sekulic said the All-NBA guard for the Dallas Mavericks has no lingering issues from the knee tweak that forced him to sit out the game against USA in Malaga, Spain.
“He had a bruise in the muscle where he got hit but like I always say, Luka is playing amazing basketball,” Sekulic said. “He was even willing to play against the United States but our medical team decided it’s better for him to rest. He’s always ready to play.”
Slovenia is in Group F of the World Cup with Cape Verde, Georgia and Venezuela. The group stage games begin on 25 August.
Tominaga Keisei, who led Japan with 20 points each in the games against Angola and France earlier this week, made just two three-pointers from 12 attempts in a haul of 10 points.
Japan as a team shot a dissapointing 21 per cent from from three-point range.
It didn’t help that Watanabe Yuta missed his third straight game with a sprained right ankle, meaning Japan's best player heads to the World Cup without a single warm-up game under his belt.
"There’s no way we can win, shooting the way we did today," Tominaga said. "That led to them gaining momentum throughout.
"(Doncic) is not just about scoring. The passing, his vision of the floor. His level of accuracy, efficiency, I can’t believe he’s only 24. He plays like a veteran."
Japan coach Tom Hovasse added: “We had looks. We just have to step up and knock them down. As they say in the NBA, it’s a make-or-miss league.”