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

Joffrey Lauvergne and France

Once again the Nuggets’ Frenchman, Joffrey Lauvergne, started Wednesday’s game riding pine for “Les Bleus.” Lauvergne did not sub in until there was about five and a half minutes to go in the first. He made a pair of nice jumpers, slammed in a rowdy baseline dunk and collected a defensive rebound, but he also was blocked on a layup attempt during the opening frame.

Lauvergne did not get a lot of run during the second or third quarter, but shot 1/2 from the field — both attempts were jump shots during the second. During the third, Lauvergne matched up against Jokic for a stretch of several minutes, with neither player getting too much of an upper hand. Jokic was able to get position on Lauvergne a couple of times, but neither player was able to score on the other, as Jokic was forced to settle on just an assist with Lauvergne guarding him.

More from Nugg Love

• Was trading Bones Hyland a mistake for the Denver Nuggets?
• Did Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets break Anthony Davis?
• Denver Nuggets stars face serious disrespect in recent NBA rankings poll
• What will it take for Denver Nuggets star to become ‘inevitable?’
• Denver Nuggets NBA Training Camp report, other preseason dates to know

The fourth quarter was when Lauvergne stood out and took over for France. He missed a jumper early on, but slammed in a pair of authoritative dunks about a minute apart bringing France back into the lead at 68-67. “King Joffrey” also added a defensive rebound and a pair of personal fouls during the final frame, but the real excitement came after Serbia took a 75-70 lead with just over three minutes to go.

In discussing France’s second game, I noted that France’s gameplan could not be to have Lauvergne out there chucking up the most shot attempts of anyone on the team, but that is exactly what happened again today, as France is now on a two-game winning streak. Lauvergne was Les Bleus’ second-leading scorer Wednesday with 12 points on 6/11 (54.5%) shooting from the field. He also added a pair of defensive boards on the day. Lauvergne’s energy on the offensive end is a welcome sign for Nuggets fans, as the Frenchman was not nearly as active last season after suffering a back injury.

French guards Nando De Colo and Tony Parker went on a 6-0 run over the last 1:49 of the game. Parker hit the game-winning jumper over the Serbian defense with just 31 seconds left. Serbia had a chance to take the lead, but turned the ball over with eight seconds left. For some mysterious reason, France tried to add an exclamation point to their comeback, as De Colo tossed up an errant alley-oop pass to Rudy Gobert, who failed to convert — giving Serbia one last chance. Jokic snatched the defensive board, fumbled it momentarily and launched a pass up court to his teammate, Bogdan Bogdanovic. The Serbian scorer tossed up a long-distance heave that hit back iron before caroming away on the buzzer-beating attempt.

Let’s take a look at what both Nuggets and their international have ahead of him at the Rio Olympics.

Next: What's Next for France, Serbia