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A pair of Knicks, Evan Fournier (France) and Rokas Jokubaitis (Lithuania) helped their respective teams reach the round of 16 in the 2022 EuroBasket tournament. Sadly, the road would end for one of them on Saturday, as Rokas’ Team Lithuania lost to Spain in overtime, 102-94. Fournier’s Team France will move on, however, as they won an overtime thriller against Turkey, 87-86.
Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. Rokas had a fine performance for the Lithuanians, with 13 points, 6 rebounds and a team-high 5 assists. He had a chance to win the game in regulation, but missed a tough three-pointer in the waning seconds. Former Knick Ignas Brazdeikis tipped in Rokas’ miss to force OT.
Rokas Jokubaitis taking the game deciding shot for Lithuania is huge.
— Ersin Demir (@EDemirNBA) September 10, 2022
Plays with 13 PTS, 4 AST (2 TO) and 6 REB on 40% shooting.
Lithuania's future leader. pic.twitter.com/Zz4YmicDm6
We bid thee farewell, Rokas. And we wish you good fortune this club season in Barcelona.
As for our guy Fournier, he continued to struggle with his shooting in this tournament, scoring 13 points on 5-13 shooting (2-8 from three). Evan did hit one of his two triples in a clutch moment, however.
Evan Fournier (13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists) hits a key 3-pointer in overtime as France advances to the quarterfinals of EuroBasket, topping Turkey in a thriller 87-86 pic.twitter.com/APEZxotW63
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) September 10, 2022
Still, the French will need much more from Fournier if they want to compete with the European heavyweights in the quarterfinals and beyond. France will likely face reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and Serbia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
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