The Slovenian men’s basketball team on Monday defeated Argentina 118-100 in their Olympic debut, with Luka Doncic scoring 48 points to come close to breaking the tournament’s single-game scoring record.
Argentina may have an Olympic pedigree, with gold and bronze medals to their belt, but Slovenia, a newcomer, jumped out to an early lead with four straight three-pointers, three of which were made by Doncic.
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic had 31 points by halftime, accounting for half of his team’s scoring as they lead 62-42 and never looked back.
Doncic shot 18 of 29 from the field, including six three-pointers, while also grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out five assists.
With 23 points, Luis Scola, who is competing in his fifth Olympics for Argentina, lead his squad.
Oscar Schmidt of Brazil owns the single-game record of 55 points, which he set against Spain in 1988. Doncic’s 48 points tie him for second place with Eddie Palubinskas of Australia in 1976.
Slovenia is in Group C at the Olympics, joined by Argentina, Japan and Spain.