Rio Olympics: Jokic, Serbia fall to Lauvergne, France in final minute

Nikola Jokic and Serbia

The Nuggets’ Serbian sensation, Nikola Jokic, started Wednesday’s game against France after beginning each of the team’s first two games on the bench. Unfortunately for Jokic and Serbia, France began the game on fire and raced out to a 20-4 lead in the first five minutes.

Jokic did not do much to halt the early slide as his first play saw him turn the ball over on a sloppy pass from the right elbow and later pick up an unsportsmanlike foul for smacking Nando De Colo across the face. He did, however, quietly register a steal and an assist during France’s big run.

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The second quarter was even less kind to the Nuggets’ second-year player to be. Jokic missed a three-point attempt, snatched down a defensive rebound and picked up three fouls in the second frame as Serbia began to come back. After picking up his fourth foul, Jokic was benched for the remainder of the half, as FIBA rules dictate that it takes only five fouls to foul out of the game during the Olympics.

Jokic did not re-enter the game until there was 4:42 left in the third quarter, his team trailing by six. Jokic and fellow Nuggets big man, Joffrey Lauvergne, were able to go head-to-head for the next eight or so minutes of the game after this point, with Jokic having only a tiny bit more of an impact than his NBA teammate.

It was when he finally subbed back in during the third quarter that Jokic finally began to have a positive impact on the game. First, “Big Honey” dished a sweet assist from the elbow to a teammate for three. Later, Jokic snatched down a defensive rebound, handled the ball up court and dropped off a fast break dime — giving Serbia its first lead of the game with just over a minute left in the third.

During action in the fourth quarter, Jokic pulled down five rebounds, made another nice pass for an assist, and scored a layup off of a well-executed in-bounds play, but it was not enough for Serbia to hold on to the seven-point lead they built up during the final frame.

Despite his -11 plus/minus, I thought that Jokic actually played above-average defense. In one specific instance, he moved his feet particularly well after a switch onto French swingman Mickael Gelabale and nearly forced a steal before the French offense was forced to reset. Matt Moore, NBA writer for CBSSports.com, agreed that “Joker” played better defensively than his -11 plus/minus suggests.

Jokic finished with just two points on a paltry 1/4 (25%) shooting — including 0/3 from three-point range. Jokic added seven rebounds, four assists and a steal during the game, but after finishing third in NBA Rookie of the Year voting last season and then being named MVP of the Belgrade qualifying tournament last month, Jokic has been nearly invisible so far during the Rio Olympics.

Let’s take a look how Lauvergne and France were able to snatch the victory away from Serbia.

Next: Joffrey Lauvergne and France