By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Serbia blew a 21-point lead against Turkey before ultimately leaving Istanbul with a 79 – 72 win to close the August Window of the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers with two victories.
Nikola Jokic scored a game-high 24 points (19 of them in the first half) and grabbed 10 rebounds during 25 minutes to lead Serbia.
The reigning back-to-back NBA MVP also made the basket for the 72 – 79 with 44 seconds left to more or less secure the win for his national team. The “Orlovi” are now 3-3 in Group I in a two-way tie with Belgium for the third position, behind Latvia (5-1) and Greece (4-2).
After trailing 31-52 early in the second half, Turkey rallied to tie the game at 71 with 3:26 to play but went almost scoreless in the remainder of the match. Nikola Kalinic (14 points, six rebounds) hit a key 3-pointer for the 72 – 75 and Marko Guduric (14 points, six assists) drained a pair of free throws, as the Serbian side reclaimed the advantage.
This loss creates problems for Turkey which is now 2-4 and fifth in a Group from which the top three out of six teams advance to the World Cup. Cedi Osman had 22 points and six rebounds, Furkan Korkmaz scored 18 and Alperen Sengun registered 17 points plus 13 boards for the Turkish team.