Croatia beat Latvia 115-80 in World Cup qualifying Thursday. Cavaliers forward Mario Hezonja scored 28 points and went 8-of-8 on two-pointers.
Mario Hezonja made all eight of his two-point attempts Thursday at Dvorana Krešimir Ćosić in Zadar. Croatia beat Latvia 115-80 in the second round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers. Hezonja finished with 28 points, 3 rebounds, and 7 assists in his first qualifier since signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was 8-of-13 from the field, per NBA.com's live blog, and the FIBA Basketball World Cup account posted the 8-of-8 mark on two-pointers.
Latvia never led. Croatia was in front for 39 of the 40 minutes, with no lead changes. The biggest lead reached 38 points. An 11-0 run was the longest by either side.
Croatia took the first quarter 23-14. The second went 37-27, the third 25-16, and the fourth 30-23.
Two-point shooting for Croatia came in at 81.3%, and three-point shooting at 42.9%. Latvia shot 55.3% on two-pointers and 29% from three-point range. Karlo Matković, who is under contract with the New Orleans Pelicans, added 18 points on 8-of-8 shooting. Rihards Lomazs led Latvia with 20. Attendance was 7,306.
Thursday was Hezonja's return to the arena where he scored 37 points in an 80-83 loss to France in February 2025 that ended Croatia's EuroBasket hopes. He played in Zadar several times as a kid and had never played a senior game there in front of the home crowd until that night. "This is the best day of my life," Hezonja said afterward, per Basketball Sphere.
The Cavaliers agreed to terms with Hezonja on July 26 for one year and $2.8 million. None of the money is guaranteed at signing, and the $2.8 million becomes fully guaranteed if Hezonja is on the roster past Nov. 15. Cleveland announced the signing on July 31, the same day Real Madrid announced the end of his four-year run with the club, and his NBA exit clause had lapsed on July 20, six days before he agreed to terms with the Cavaliers.
Six titles came out of those four seasons in Madrid: one EuroLeague title, two Liga ACB titles, one Copa del Rey, and two Spanish Super Cups. He was named Liga ACB MVP for 2025-26. Last season, he averaged 15.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 23.1 minutes, playing 80 games across EuroLeague, Liga ACB, the Spanish Cup, and the ACB Supercup. He started 71 and shot 84.8% free throw.
Croatia coach Tomislav Mijatović tells his players in practice that the qualifying run is their project and their situation to create, and that the staff is only there to help. "Both Dario and Mario and the rest of the guys accepted and embraced the role," Mijatović said in a FIBA interview published in June.
Orlando drafted Hezonja fifth overall in 2015. He played three seasons with the Magic, one with the Knicks, and one with the Trail Blazers. His career totals are 6.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists over 330 games, with 69 starts and a 31.9% three-point shooting percentage. He hasn't played in an NBA game since 2019-20.
Cleveland scouted him in person several times over the past few years, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reported. The front office valued his 38.4% mark on catch-and-shoot attempts over the last four seasons, and Cleveland had discussed bringing him over a summer earlier before filling out the roster with other players.
Through the qualifying campaign, Hezonja averaged 19.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists with 45% shooting. He achieved the first triple-double in European Qualifiers history on July 2 against Cyprus. Croatia won 123-50, setting a record with 43 assists.
Ivica Zubac, whom the Indiana Pacers acquired before the February trade deadline, and Dario Šarić are both on the 15-man announced roster.
Croatia leads Group K at 6-1, while Latvia drops to 3-4. Sunday, Croatia travels to Amsterdam to face the Netherlands at 8:30 a.m. ET, while Latvia hosts Israel that same day.
