Luka Doncic made his return to the FIBA EuroBasket in an attempt to lead Slovenia once more to a continental title. However, Slovenia came unstuck in its opener against Poland, losing 105-95 at the Spodek Arena on Thursday.
Doncic led all scorers with 34 points along with four rebounds and nine assists, but it was not enough as Slovenia struggled to contain Poland's one-two punch of Jordan Loyd and Matheus Ponitka. Loyd finished with 32 points on 9 of 14, while Ponitka had 23 points.
Edu Moric backstopped Doncic with 17 points, while Gregor Hrovat added 14 for Slovenia.

Doncic is expected to do the heavy lifting for his team throughout the tournament as it lacks NBA talent outside of the LA Lakers star. The team is without the services of Josh Nebo, Vlatko Čančar, Jaka Blažič, and Zoran Dragić for this tournament.
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Meanwhile, Poland will lean on Ponitka and Loyd as it aims to use homecourt advantage to pull off upsets.
Slovenia will next face France on Friday, while Poland will play Israel on Saturday.
Slovenia vs. Poland game summary
The game opened with Doncic scoring 12 points in the first quarter, keeping Slovenia within striking distance as Poland used a hot start to take a slim 29-25 cushion after the opening period.
Poland's Jordan Loyd and Mateusz Ponitka put up 19 and 13 points, respectively, to weather Slovenia's storm late in the first half to remain ahead at halftime, 47-46.
Doncic had 17 points in the first half.
Outside of Doncic, Slovenia struggled to find offense, especially in the third quarter, and was outscored by Poland 33-23. This pushed the Polish lead to double-digits (80-69) ahead of the fourth quarter.
Poland stayed firm in the final quarter, keeping Slovenia at bay to seal the win.