EUROBASKET 2011

Turning Point: With 3:18 left to play, Jaka Lakovic went for his famous off-dribble lefty three-point shot to push the margin up to 73-65. Instead of standing neck-to-neck with Georgia in the closing minutes Slovenia had a safety net that made the difference.

Game Heroes: With Goran Dragic scoring just two points on 13% shooting from the floor, Slovenia needed someone to step up and Lakovic together with Saso Ozbolt were the men with the plan. Lakovic had 22 points on five three-pointers and seven free-throws. He also handed out four assists. Ozbolt had 21 points including four long bombs and also accounted for four steals in the win.

Stats Don't Lie: Slovenia's defense was tough as ever and forced Georgia into 21 turnovers. The Slovenians themselves only turned the ball over seven times.

Slovenia remain perfect for one more day after an 87-75 victory over Georgia in Group D at Klaipeda on Saturday evening.

With this win, Slovenia jump to a 3-0 record on top of the group while Georgia drop to 1-2 tied with Bulgaria and Ukraine.

Not many marked this game as one to follow but it was one of the best EuroBasket 2011 has seen so far with great intensity for 40 minutes.

The 12-point final margin doesn't tell the story of the game as Georgia held a double-digit lead themselves and put up a great fight.

Jaka Lakovic was the top scorer with 22 points, with all of his field goals - made and attempted - came from beyond the arc, as he hit five of nine three-pointers (56% accuracy).

Saso Ozbolt stepped up with his best performance of the tournament, hitting four long bombs of his own as part of 21-point effort to go with four steals.

Zoran Dragic added 15 points, Erazem Lorbek had a dozen and Goran Jagodnik chipped in with 10.

For Georgia, Zaza Pachulia bounced back from sub-par performances with 22 points, while Manuchar Markoishvili finished with 16 and Viktor Sanikidze with 10.

"We took a lot of three-pointers because they played zone defense and it proved a good tactic because our shots went in and made our life easier," Lakovic sad after the game.

Slovenia hit 15 of 35 three-point attempts for 43%, four more made shots than they had inside the arc.

Georgia had the better start and, with a great blitz on defense, managed to open a 10-point gap at the end of the first quarter once Marquez Haynes scored from the arc to make it 25-15.

The gap grew to 13 points before Slovenia used their three-point proficiency to rally all the way back and tie the game at 40 at the break.

They connected on 11 shots from beyond the arc in the first half alone.

The close game continued for 17 more minutes before Lakovic hit another big three-pointer that pushed the lead to eight, 73-65, and forced Georgia to spend the closing minutes chasing Slovenia.

On Sunday, Slovenia will take on Belgium while Georgia have a tough and very important battle against Ukraine.