New York Knicks‘ Mindaugas Kuzminskas had an excellent performance in the opening game of EuroBasket despite Lithuania’s loss to Georgia.
EuroBasket 2017 started on Thursday with the first of three New York Knicks participating: Mindaugas Kuzminskas (Lithuania). Willy Hernangomez (Spain) and Kristaps Porzingis (Latvia) play on Friday.
Despite Lithuania dropping their opener – an upset to Georgia – Kuzminskas had 18 points, seven rebounds, one steal, and one assist. It wasn’t his fault. Kuz’s teammate – Toronto Raptors star center Jonas Valanciunas – had nine points to go along with nine rebounds.
Georgia won in a highly competitive game, 79-77, behind 29 points from ex-Brooklyn Net Tornike Shengelia. Lithuania’s next game is on Saturday against Israel at 2:30 p.m.
Porzingis and Latvia open at 10:00 a.m. against Serbia. Hernangomez and Spain open against Montenegro at 10:45 a.m. ET. The games are available through a stream on Watch ESPN.
Kuzminskas had an inconsistent rookie season with the Knicks. The 27-year-old averaged 6.2 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.4 steals on a slash line of .428/.321/.809. He has one more year remaining on his deal.
It’s good to see Kuzminskas getting so many opportunities at such a high level. He played 27 minutes and took 16 shots. With the Knicks, he played more than 20 minutes just 13 times and his season high in FGA was 15.