Nikola Jokic Olympics Stats (August 6): How did Serbia's superstar fare against Australia?
Nikola Jokic's Serbia came out 95-90 winners in an epic Quarterfinal showdown in the ongoing men’s basketball event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Serbia found themselves against Australia, a team stacked with NBA talent, and known for its defensive resilience.
Despite a poor start that saw them enter halftime with a 12-point deficit, a strong team performance saw them rally back in the second half. The match was played at the Bercy Arena in France, as the 3-time NBA MVP found himself against a team that has only edged past the group stage. Australia lost two of their three group-stage matches and qualified due to their opening-day victory over Spain. They finished second due to the points difference.
Regardless, the game ended 82-82 at the end of regulation, following which Serbia managed to edge past the Boomers in overtime, securing a 95-90 victory.
Serbia mounted an impressive comeback after a poor first half against Australia, which was also down to the team effort from the likes of Bogdan Bogdanovic and Vasilije Micic, who added 17 and 14 points, respectively.
Nikola Jokic through Four Quarters
The Serbian big man started the game strongly. He finished the first quarter with 3-4 shooting and had 6 points. However, a strong start from the Australians meant that Serbia struggled to keep up, and finished trailing by 14 points, as the quarter ended with the scoreline at 17-31.
Serbia eventually responded in the second quarter, with Nikola Jokic adding another 5. His team attempted to claw back into the game and would have, if not for Patty Mills and Josh Giddey’s dominance on the other end of the court. The two had 20 and 13 points by the end of the second quarter, with Jokic entering halftime with 11.
Serbia managed to mount a comeback in the third quarter. Jokic added only four points even as his team managed to overturn the deficit. However, the game proved to be neck-to-neck right till the end of the fourth, as Jokic himself added just two more points. He finished the game with 17, as Serbia managed to pull off a remarkable turnaround even as the match ended 82-82 in regular time.
Nikola Jokic’s campaign in 2024 Paris Olympics
Nikola Jokic, as one would expect, has been the clear star for his team at the Paris Olympics as well. He has scored a total of 56 points in three games thus far and added to his tally against Australia as well. He has averaged 18.7 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists per game, and has enjoyed an overall efficiency of 64.5%, converting 20 of his 31 shots in the tournament until the quarterfinal stage.
Serbia mounted an impressive comeback after a poor first half against Australia, which was also down to the team effort from the likes of Bogdan Bogdanovic and
Vasilije Micic, who added 14 and 13 points, respectively. Serbia has now managed to secure the second semifinal spot in the tournament after Germany won their quarter-final matchup against Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Greece.