The Israelis were down nearly all game but were able to play the Serbians closely toward the end of the third quarter.
The Israel men’s national basketball team lost to Serbia, 89-78 on Monday evening in Prague, Czech Republic.
Given that Serbia was the favorite in EuroBasket Group D and Israel was the fifth seed of six teams, this is not a surprise. Israel did not have anything going for them from the beginning however. The only time they led was in the beginning by two points.
Though the outcome of the game was never in doubt, Israel made a run late in the third quarter and were down by just 5 points early in the fourth quarter.
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was on fire, scoring 29 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for Serbia. Washington Wizards forward Deni Avdija scored 14 points for Israel while Yam Madar scored 20.
Israel has one more game which will be this Thursday when they face off against the Czech Republic on Thursday. Tip-off is at 11:30 a.m. ET.