KLAIPEDA (Lithuania) - Nenad Dimitrijevic came up with a performance for the ages with the North Macedonia star torching Lithuania for a historic 43 points - albeit in a loss in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 European Qualifies.
Dimitrijevic was absolutely unstoppable, connecting on 16 of 30 shots, including 7 of 15 three-pointers and 4 of 4 free throws in North Macedonia's 94-72 road loss.
Despite scoring 43 points, Dimitjevic did much more than just put the ball in the basket as he also contributed 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals for an efficiency of 40.
"We lost. It doesn't matter that I scored 43 points. We lost. So it's not the best game of my career because we lost. In the end, that's what matters," the 26-year-old Dimitrijevic said.
Unfortunately for Dimitrijevic, no other North Macedonia player reached double figures in scoring.
Dimitrijevic's scoring breakdown was 18 points in the first quarter, 10 in both the second and third quarters and 5 in the final frame.
He could have possibly scored more but he went down to the floor with six minutes left, holding his left calf. He eventually had to be carried off the court by two team officials.
"It was just a big cramp. I hope it will be okay in a few days," he said.
North Macedonia could offer no resistance with Dimitrijevic on the bench the rest of the way as Lithuania ran away with it.
Dimitrijevic's performance comes two days after David Kramer scored 43 points in Germany's loss to Sweden to set the new FIBA EuroBasket Qualifiers mark since the format of the competition switched to its current shape. Kramer surpassed Iffe Lundberg's mark of 38 points for Denmark against Czechia in November 2020.
Dimitrijevic did not play in North Macedonia's first game of the window and just how much North Macedonia head coach Aleksandar Joncevski was awaiting his scoring ace could be seen from the first window.
The North Macedonia star scored 25 points against Estonia in the team's first game in February 2024 and followed that with 32 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists versus Poland.
In fact, the Skopje native has now poured in at least 25 points in his last five games for his country and six of the last seven dating back to the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers.
FIBA