TAMPERE, Finland: Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen scored 29 of his 43 points in the first half in a dazzling performance that highlighted Finland’s 109-79 rout of Britain at EuroBasket on Friday.
Markkanen played just 23 minutes while matching his EuroBasket high for points, set in 2022 against Croatia. He was four points off the all-time tournament record of 47 points by Slovenia’s Luka Doncic against France in 2022.
Finland are tied at 2-0 with Germany and Lithuania in Group B, which is being played in Tampere, Finland. Britain dropped to 0-2.
Markkanen, who scored 28 points in a 93-90 win over Sweden on Wednesday, shot 9 of 15 from the field in his 14 first-half minutes. He made five 3s in the first half and finished with seven, his last one giving Finland an 84-56 lead early in the fourth quarter. He was on the bench for the last 7 1/2 minutes.
Markkanen overshadowed teammate Sasu Salin, who shot 7 of 9 on 3s for all 21 of his points. Olivier Nkamhoua added 13 for Finland. Britain got 13 points from Luke Nelson.
Jokic, Jovic lead Serbia
Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets had 23 points and 10 rebounds and the Miami Heat’s Nikola Jovic added 18 points and six boards as tournament favorite Serbia defeated Portugal 80-69 in Riga, Latvia. Serbia improved to 2-0 in Group A and Portugal dropped to 1-1.
Jovic’s inside basket early in the third quarter gave Serbia it’s biggest lead, 53-35, and Portugal never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.
Diogo Brito had 22 points and nine rebounds to lead Portugal and Travante Williams had 15 points and five steals.
Germany roll past Sweden
Sacramento Kings guard Dennis Schroder scored a game-high 23 points and made seven assists to lead world champions Germany to a 105-83 win over Sweden.
Schroder shot 7 for 12 from the field, making three 3-pointers. Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner added 21 points as Germany went 2-0 in Group B after also beating Montenegro in its opening game.
Melwin Pantzar led Sweden with 18 points, with Pelle Larsson of the Miami Heat sidelined by an undisclosed illness.
Germany shot 60 percent for the game. Daniel Theis made a quick three buckets to help build an 8-0 lead and the world champion never looked back.
Germany are among the title contenders after they upset the US en route to winning the 2023 Basketball World Cup, beating Serbia in the final.
Valanciunas leads Lithuania
Denver Nuggets center Jonas Valanciunas scored 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting to lead Lithuania to a 94-76 win over Montenegro.
Lithuania, 2-0 in Group B, made a EuroBasket record 35 assists, according to the organizers.
The 33-year-old Valanciunas also reached the milestone of 500 points in Eurobaskets, playing in his sixth edition of the tournament.
Sengun nearly has triple double
Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun came close to a triple double as he helped Turkiye beat the Czech Republic 92-78.
Sengun scored 23 points on 8-of-9 shooting, pulled in 12 rebounds, and made nine assists as Turkiye impoved to 2-0 in Group A, which is being played in Riga.
Turkiye got 21 more points from Cedi Osman and as his team dominated in points in the paint, 50-26.
Czech center Martin Peterka stepped outside and hit five 3-pointers, scoring 23 in a losing effort.
The Czechs, 0-2, hit five early 3-pointers to open a six-point lead after the first quarter, but Turkiye responded with a 14-0 run and never fell behind again.
Porzingis keys Latvia comeback
Atlanta Hawks center Kristaps Porzingis started Latvia’s comeback late in the third quarter and finished with 26 points in a 72-70 win over Estonia in Riga.
Estonia was up by seven points when Porzingis hit a short turnaround jumper, and Kristers Zoriks’ 3-pointer gave Latvia their first lead at 63-61. Estonia pulled to 66-64 in the fourth quarter, but Porzingis’ dunk and three-point play made it a seven-point game with a minute left.
Arturs Zagars had eight points, six assists and three steals for Latvia, who won despite shooting 18.2 percent (6 of 33) on 3-pointers. Latvia improved to 1-1 in Group A.
Matthias Tass and Artur Konontsuk scored 13 points apiece and Kristian Kullamae added 12 for Estonia, who dropped to 0-2 in group play.
