By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Lauri Markkanen made history again in EuroBasket, scoring with 43 points in 23 minutes of action. Playing in front of his home crowd, Markkanen put on a show while his team destroyed, as expected, a lower-level opponent like Great Britain. The final score of 109-79 is self-explanatory.
Finland was leading 58-42 after the first half, with Markkanen scoring half the points of his team, 29, in just 14 minutes of action on 9/15 FG.
In total, Markkanen had 13/22 FG (59%) and 10/11 free throws (91%), tying his personal best in Eurobasket, which is also the sixth-best scoring performance over.
His teammate Andre Gustavson said about what makes his performance special: “The way he plays, he doesn’t take something away from us. He finds the right spots, you look up, and suddenly he has 30. He is not forcing anything, not doing anything extra, and our team knows where to find him. It makes it easy for us, but it’s also a group effort”.
Coach Lassi Tuovi added: “My main job is not to mess it up. Let him play, to give him freedom, but he has been playing for years in the youth national team system, and a lot of things he does come from the backbone, and that’s why it looks so easy. Of course, it was a sensational performance and I am happy for the fans who had the chance to see such a performance live at home”.
Only Luka Doncic (47 points, 2022), Greek legend Nikos Gkalis (46 points, 1983 – 45 points, 1989), the Israeli duo of Miki Bergovich (44, 1975) and Doron Jamchi (44, 1987), plus Bosnian Nenad Markovic (44, 1997) have scored more.
The absolute record belongs to Belgian Eddy Terrace, who scored 63 points in 1957 against Albania.
Photo credit: FIBA