TOKYO - Luka Doncic tied for the second-most points scored in an Olympics game with 48 points to lead Slovenia to a 118-100 win over Argentina in the men's basketball competition here on Sunday.

Doncic grabbed 31 points in the first half. It was Slovenia's first-ever Olympic game and now they have been regarded as a medal threat.

Luis Scola, who scored a team-high 23 points for Argentina, hailed Doncic's performance after the game.

"He was too good, obviously. He was unbelievable, but they played a very good game, they hit a lot of shots. They just played a lot better than we did and they deserved to win," said the 41-year-old veteran.

"I don't think we played good defense today which was pretty obvious," he added.

With a 12-0 run, Slovenia extended its lead to 62-42 at the break and put the game beyond reach. Klemen Prepelic contributed 22 points for the victory, followed by 12 from Vlatko Cancar.

Facundo Campazzo scored 21 points for Argentina. Gabriel Deck added 17.