Dario Watch: Croatia gets on track with runaway 3rd quarter vs Great Britain

Make no mistake about it – this is supposed to be an easy win for Croatia. They’re the #21 in the world coming off a near-upset over #9 Greece and now facing #45 Great Britain. This is supposed to be a win.

Despite a first half that said otherwise, Croatia did in fact make it look easy, closing the game with an 86-65 win, their first of the group stage of the tournament.

Phoenix Suns combo big Dario Saric, coming off a scoreless outing against Greece, showed up early and often, trying to make sure he didn’t end up with a goose egg once again:

And he showed some patented tough bounce passes:

Saric’s running mate – and possible future Suns teammate – Bojan Bogdanovic was right there with him, leading Croatia in scoring for a second straight game, albeit in a three-way tie this time.

He added in some solid defense:

And even gave us a preview of what’s to come in a Saric-Bogdanovic pairing with this crosscourt pass from Saric for a Bogdanovic three.

Even in the face of the two-man success Croatia was having, Great Britain found themselves in striking distance at the half, down just 37-31. Britain was staying alive thanks to an offensive rebounding effort; at one point they led the column 8-1 before finishing at 10-5.

In the third quarter alone, however, Croatia nearly doubled that scoring output while really tightening up defensively, winning the third 35-9 and essentially putting the game out of reach there.

Croatia used the fourth quarter to get their players some extra rest after playing two games in under 30 hours; no Croatian played more than 27 minutes after Bogdanovic led the team with 38 minutes in the first game.

Notable statlines:

Croatia:

• D. Saric: 15 points (3-6 2P, 2-5 3P, 3-3 FT), 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 block in 27 minutes
• B. Bogdanovic: 15 points (3-5 2P, 3-6 3P, no FTA), 2 rebounds, and 1 assist in 18 min
• I. Zubac: 15 points (6-6 2P, 3-5 FT), 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 18 min

Great Britain:

• M. Hesson: 18 points (6-13 2P, 1-4 3P, 3-4 FT), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal in 30 min

Up next:

Croatia has 48th-ranked Estonia in their sights, led by University of Arizona standout Kerr Kriisa, who had 20 points and 6 assists in their first game against Italy. That game will tip Monday morning at 5:15 a.m. AZ time on ESPN+.

Great Britain has a date with Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Greek squad immediately following Croatia-Estonia at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, also on ESPN+.