Team Serbia and star Nikola Jokic faced off against Team Germany in the bronze medal match today. It seemed like this was going to be an easy one for Serbia to put away, as they went up 19 in the third quarter. However, things shifted, and a surge from Germany brought it down to nine by the end of the third. Jokic and his team felt the pressure mounting, but in the end, they managed to deliver a medal to their country in a 93-83 win.
Team Serbia's dominant first half
By the end of the first quarter, Serbia led 30-21. This was due to the perfect in the paint offense. It also helped that in this quarter alone, Jokic got himself six assists to go along with a barrage of jumpers and layups. He was locked in from the beginning. This under the basket scoring ended up being extremely important this quarter as Germany went on a bit of a roll from three-point land.
The second quarter was a different story for both teams. Serbia went just 1-7 from three and just 3-7 from the field. On the other end, Germany was 2-9 from three and 1-8 on the inside. It was what one might call brick city and the half ended 46-38. It was more of an upsetting performance from Germany as they came up with multiple big rebounds that were never converted.
Germany falls flat and comes back
Germany's offense in the third quarter was pretty stagnant until it neared the end. There were multiple missed layups coming one after the other that led to Serbia's massive 19-point lead. What was once an easy turnaround became an uphill battle. It looked like the game was going to be over before the final buzzer in this one. However, things shifted at the 2:29 mark for the Germans. A Franz Wagner free throw cut the lead to 10, and suddenly, they had a shot at bronze.
Threes from Isaac Bonga, Moritz Wagner, and Andreas Obst helped shift the momentum, and Serbia could feel Germany at its heels. The third ended with the lead cut to nine as the scoreboard read 72-63. Hope continued for Gordon Herbert and his team in the fourth as they continued to pressure the opposition.
Germany's defense was able to lock Serbia down multiple times. They had Jokic and his team struggling to keep the ball in their grasp. The minute a Serbian would cross half-court, two defenders would crash down on him, attempting to get the steal or cause a back-court violation. This worked multiple times, but it wasn't enough for them to come back.
The Joker's triple-double performance
Nikola Jokic finished the game with 19 points, 11 assists, and 12 rebounds. He also got himself a block and a steal. This triple-double was just the fifth in Olympic history, and to do it in a medal match is even more impressive. He was the anchor for his team, dishing out dimes and hitting his signature jumpers in the paint. Without the Joker, Serbia would not have won this game.
Another shout out needs to go to Vasilije Micic, who was the energy they needed off the bench. He also had 19 points. The guard went 3-4 from inside the paint, 2-6 from three, and 7-8 from the line. His ability to get inside Germany's defense and agitate them led to the key trips to the charity stripe.
Bogdan Bogdanovic also had a great game with 16 points, knocking down 3-4 from three-point land. Two of his threes came at key moments in the fourth quarter that helped secure Serbia's bronze medal win. It also helped that he attracted the defense to the outside giving Jokic a chance to work in the paint. These three players really brought this one home or Team Serbia.
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