Mario Hezonja turns in best game of Olympics, but Croatia falls short

Mario Hezonja turned in his best game of the Olympic games in the finale for Croatia as the team fell in a heartbreaker against rival Serbia.

Croatia trailed by three points late in the game. Dario Saric was on the bench with four fouls. And Croatia was hoping to extend the game. Serbia was going to foul to prevent the three.

The easy answer for the inbounds was star Bojan Bogdanovic, the Olympics’ leading scorer. Serbia had blanketed him with defenders all game, making his life extremely difficult. Croatia had to turn to an option they had not turned to all game.

At long last in the fourth quarter of the quarterfinal game, Mario Hezonja got his opportunity to be on the ball and dominate. And Hezonja took advantage. He was smart, composed and clutch. He made all four of his free throws down the stretch to keep Croatia in the game.

As Croatia had to erase a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter, Hezonja scored repeatedly and turned in his best offensive game. Croatia came all the way back.

They could not quite get over the hump. A disastrous final two minutes offensively — Bogdanovic and Hezonja missed key shots — that saw the team get stagnant again saw Croatia come up just short. Their Olympic run is over with an 86-83 loss to Serbia at Carioca Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

This was not their time, but the Croatian team’s future is bright.

That was on display with Hezonja’s play as much as anything else. At long last he got some opportunities with the ball and had the comfort to attack. That confidence spread quickly as he got more involved with the offense.

Hezonja scored 16 points on 4-for-8 shooting. He added eight rebounds too. He did most of his work in the fourth quarter as Croatia tried to recover from a disastrous 34-14 third quarter that caused them to lose their lead.

His confidence seemed to be bubbling after he started the third quarter with a cut from the corner and a two-handed jam. Then came the deep 3-pointers. And then the play fake that froze Milos Teodosic before he pulled up for a fade-away jumper over him.

This was the kind of freedom Hezonja lacked throughout much of the Olympic tournament. It felt like he was finally unleashed.

And Hezonja rewarded his teammates with that trust. With Bogdanovic blanketed — he still scored 27 points — Hezonja helped loosen that pressure. And his 3-point shooting was superb.

It took a while for Hezonja to get going. He struggled a lot in the first half. He got yanked too as he tried dribbling into traffic and nearly lost the ball. That appears still to be an issue for the young player.

At least he finally had the freedom and confidence to try to bring that out of his bag of tricks.

Croatia struggled mightily in the third quarter to make shots as Serbia took it to them time and time again. Croatia’s defense got pulled apart. Dario Saric got frustrated and made many mistakes, clearly losing his composure. Croatia had to change things to come back. Aside from making shots.

That is where Hezonja stepped in and made his mark.

It was not always easy. His first half was like much of the rest of his tournament. He stood on the perimeter and did not get much involved. Defensively, he would sometimes lose his man, but he was being more adventurous in trying to help.

He was good at digging out rebounds too. That has been the case throughout the tournament. When he was close to the basket, he was fighting for rebounding position.

Late in the fourth quarter, Hezonja closed out on a 3-pointers and began to leak out. He quickly recovered back and dug out the rebound to give his team another chance to tie the game. Of course, he missed a long three to tie the game on the ensuing possession.

That perhaps exemplifies all Hezonja can be and all that can still frustrate.

With the pressure on for Croatia and elimination on the line, Hezonja showed up for his team.

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With Hezonja and Dario Saric getting experience at this Olympic games, Croatia certainly has a bright future. Hezonja made the most of his opportunities in the end and comes home with a strong showing all things considered.