Without a bunch of important players such as Kristaps Porzingis, Rolands Šmits, Artūrs Žagars, and others, the Latvians competing in this window in Zadar never led in the game and were trailing by 38 points in the fourth quarter.
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The Croats were led forward by an impressive performance from Mario Hezonja. The forward, returning to the NBA this summer, scored 28 points (8/8 two-pointers, 0/5 three-pointers, 12/15 free throws), made 7 assists, and collected 28 efficiency points.
Among the Latvians, the top scorers were Rihards Lomažs (23 points), who left Klaipėda’s Neptūnas this summer, and Artūrs Strautiņš (20 points).
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In other Group K matches, with leaders Germany (defeated the Netherlands 99:83) and Poland (won against Israel 106:86) securing victories, the situation for the Latvians became critical.
With five rounds remaining, the Latvians are already three wins behind the top three, who will qualify for the world championship, so they practically no longer have the right to make mistakes.
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