After shooting a rough 9.1% from the field in Italy’s opening EuroBasket game, Heat forward Simone Fontecchio rebounded in a big way. According to the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang (Twitter link), Fontecchio ended a win against Bosnia and Herzegovina with 39 points while shooting 65.0% from the field and 70.0% from three. He also added eight rebounds and three assists across 37 minutes.
In the same game, the Italian forward broke his country’s all-time single-game scoring record, passing Andrea Bargnani’s 36 points in 2011. The only other modern player in Italy’s all-time top five is Danilo Gallinari‘s 33 points in 2015.
It’s encouraging for the Heat that Fontecchio was able to bounce back in such a manner while knocking down seven three-pointers. Fontecchio arrived in Miami in the trade that sent the Heat’s all-time leader in three-pointers, Duncan Robinson, to the Pistons.
We have more from EuroBasket:
- Israel got a big win over France in the Group D standings, defeating them 80-69 behind a 23-point, eight-rebound and five-steal performance from Deni Avdija, per Eurohoops.net. According to the official French National Team page (Twitter link), Alex Sarr missed the game to rest a minor right calf injury.
- Bulls center Nikola Vucevic delivered Montenegro to a huge win over Sweden in Group B, recording 23 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks. According to BasketNews, Vucevic’s performance is one of his best in a national team jersey. “It felt great, great team effort, proud of all the guys, really competed, really left it all on the floor,” Vucevic said. “Anybody that came into the game played, had huge impact at different points right throughout the game and that’s what we needed.”
- Alperen Sengun notched 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists against Estonia and helping Turkey to a 4-0 record in Group A. According to Eurohoops.net, Sengun became the first player to record at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in three straight EuroBasket games over the last 30 years.