By Josh Cohen Aug. 9, 2016
While the result wasn’t in his or his country’s favor, Mario Hezonja had a very impressive performance in Tuesday’s preliminary round game at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
He finished with 16 points and helped spark Croatia’s valiant comeback attempt down the stretch in a 90-82 loss to Argentina. Croatia pulled within four in the final minute after trailing by as many as 20 in the third quarter.
Hezonja showed off his unlimited range – made 4-of-6 from 3-point distance including one from approximately 30 feet out – and his supreme athleticism when he dunked over Patricio Garino on a fast break.
The Orlando Magic swingman also had a nifty off-balanced jumper after getting Luis Scola in the air on a pump fake.
After two games in this competition, Hezonja is a combined 8-of-14 from the floor and he has been fairly sharp on the defensive end.
Dario Saric led Croatia with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Bojan Bogdanovic tallied 18 points. Luka Babic had a chance to trim Croatia’s deficit to one with just over 30 seconds remaining but his 3-point attempt sailed off the rim.
Scola steered Argentina with 23 points, while Manu Ginobili scored 13 and Andres Nocioni had 11 points. Garino, who recently signed with the San Antonio Spurs after starring for one of the Magic’s summer league teams last month, contributed with five points.
Like it did in its win over Spain, Croatia was solid on the glass. They out-rebounded Argentina, 43-39. However, Croatia struggled closing out on shooters and avoiding fouls. Argentina shot 12-of-32 from beyond the arc and they made 16-of-24 from the free throw line.
Croatia will try to bounce back when it takes on Brazil on Thursday at 1:15 p.m. ET. The top four teams from each group advance to the knockout round.
