Saric and Croatia faced their toughest test on Tuesday against Spain, the 2015 EuroBasket champions. Saric had spent much of the previous three games feasting on non-NBA talent, but Spain's frontline included bonafide star Marc Gasol, his brother and NBA veteran Pau Gasol, and up-and-coming New York Knicks big man Juan Hernangomez. Despite the difficult task, Saric logged arguably his best game of the 2017 EuroBasket campaign, dropping 18 points (6/14 FG, 5-6 FT), 13 rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals in a 79-73 loss. He also finished with a game-high efficiency rating of 27.
The uptick in Saric's numbers on Tuesday resulted from the fact that the 23-year-old played a larger role in the team's game plan.