Nikola Jokic had a late look at a 3-point shot that would have tied the final game of Group A play at EuroBasket 2025. It rimmed out and Serbia was upset by Turkey 95-90, who came back in the game to complete a perfect five-win run through the group.
Turkey was led by center Alperen Sengun. The Houston Rockets’ big had a massive game, recording 28 points on 17 shots with 13 rebounds and eight assists. Jokic nearly matched his stat-stuffing showing, scoring 22 points on 16 shots with nine rebounds and four assists.
But where Sengun was helped by 23 points from Shane Larkin and another 16 from Cedi Osman, Serbia’s supporting cast struggled. Turkey scorched for 18 3-pointers on 58% shooting. Serbia only made 11 deep balls on 42% shooting and they didn’t have a scorer outside the three-time MVP get over a dozen points. The cast even threw two turnovers while down one on possessions with less than 100 seconds left in the game, unable to get the ball to Jokic.
That led Jokic to toss up a wild heave where he looked like he was trying to draw a foul with about 12 seconds left while down three.
Serbia was favored in the game by six and is one of the better teams in the world but they were dealt a bad hand with Bogdan Bogdanovic injured for the rest of the tournament. Coupled with the surprise to decison to not roster Thunder guard Nikola Topic and the team is left with little creation on the perimeter. That doesn’t show up in all of the routs against lesser foes, but the team barely escaped Latvia on Saturday.
OH MY NIKOLA JOKIĆ 🤯🤯
It’s a 2-point game between Türkiye and Serbia with 15 seconds to go!
Watch all the @EuroBasket action live on @courtside1891: https://t.co/fPC0xWpW1Ppic.twitter.com/SZjZRh0Dnm
— NBA (@NBA) September 3, 2025
Still, Jokic and Serbia are through to the Round of 16, which begins on Saturday. They finished the group stage at 4-1, with their one blemish being Wednesday’s upset. Serbia will face Lauri Markkanen and Finland on Saturday at 12:45 mountain time, and unfortunately, because of the loss to Turkey, they’re on Germany’s side of the bracket.
It’s Joker’s turn 👁️
A no-look bullet pass to the corner like it’s nothing 😨#EuroBasket x @KSSrbije 🇷🇸 pic.twitter.com/PzzYOv9SEO
— FIBA EuroBasket (@EuroBasket) September 3, 2025
