Serbia 79 - 105 USA live online scores, highlights and stats | USA Basketball Showcase
If Steph's shot was the pièce de résistance, this was the cherry on top. Bam was the best player on the court not named Steph Curry and he ended his shift with this lob to LeBron for the alley oop slam. This Serbia team was supposed to be one of the best teams in the Olympics outside of the US, and Steve Kerr's team just wiped them out. It's too early to crown them, but if this team starts hitting full stride by Open Ceremonies, they might cruise to the gold medal.
This was the pièce de résistance for Steph Curry on a night where he could hardly miss scoring 24 points and hitting 6 threes.. If they are playing like they did in the final three quarters, there is going to be no stopping this team. I know they let the Aussies come back on them in their last game, but I'm here to say, this team would beat the Dream Team.
Edwards may be the NO. 1 option on offense, but he had 3 steals and turned them into points on the other end as the Americans ran away with the game in the second half.
Anthony Davis has looked like the most dominant player on this team stacked with dominant players. He had 6 blocks in the game after he had 17 and 14 rebounds.
Curry had 18 in the first half, and was a big part of the run that stretched the lead to 14 points going into the halftime break. Once the US opened up a double digit cushion they looked in complete control, which wasn't the case against Australia on Monday.
There are times when LeBron looks like he's going at half speed, then there are times when he looks like he kicks it up a couple gears and dominates. He had flashes of that against Serbia. Expect to see more of that once the Olympics actually starts.
Anthony Edwards told reporters he's the No. 1 option on this team and proved it against Australia when he had 11 points in 5 minutes. Tonight he had 14 through three quarters.
Serbia wil be Team USA's first game in the Olympics and let me assure you it won't be a 30 point blow out like today's. Nikola Jokic, Marko Guduric and Aleksa Avramovic kept Serbia in the game for the first 10 minutes, but in the end Team USA was too deep, too big and too athletic.
USA Basketball had their third exhibition of their pre Olympic tour against Serbia from Abu Dhabi and blew Nikola Jokic and the Serbians out. Steph Curry went wild from downtown to lead his team to a 105-79 win in their final game from UAE.
Curry went 1/6 from the field against Australia in USA's previous game, but came out swinging from downtown. He had the first 9 points for the Americans, but the Serbians held even for the first 10 minutes.
IT'S ALL OVER!!! TEAM USA BLOW OUT SERBIA IN A WARM UP FROM ABU DHABI!
Petrusev on the block and he gets the turnaround jump hook to go and the foul on White. FT is good.
Avramovic into the lane and he gets the lay up to go. Timeout with 45.6 to go.
Potter off the bench as one of those unknowns and he hits another three.
Someone I've never seen before just hit a three for Team USA. That should tell you everything you know about how the game is going.
Guduric with a three ball and the lead is back to 25.
Avramovic to the line after the break and he hits both FTs.
Timeout from Abu Dhabi with 3:00 to go.
Tatum picks off the outlet pass from Serbia and lays it up and in.
Dobric in the corner and he hits the wide open three.
LeBron muscles to the bucket and powers his way to the iron for the lay up and one! FT is no good.
Holiday with the extra pass from behind his back and Curry drills the three ball!
Guduric hits the three ball to finally snap the USA run.
LeBron up top and he goes and chases the alley oop!
Curry with the clock winding down and he tosses it up from the corner and drills the high arching triple!
Edwards shurgging off defenders and pulls up from the mid range.
Davis with a deep two and he hits the jumper from the top of the key.
Micic with an open three at the top of the key and he drains it.
WE ARE HEADED TO THE FINAL 10 MINUTES WITH THE US IN COMMAND!
Jokic to the line after the foul on Davis and he hits one of two FTs.
Edwards with the steal, his third of the game, and he takes it for the two handed slam!
Jokic backing down Davis and he hits the step back from the block.
Extra pass from Haliburton and Bam drills the three from the top of the key!
Booker open for three from the wing and he drills it! He's been quiet today.
Adebayo to the line after the foul on Petrusev, his fourth, and Bam his one of two FTs.
Dobric was left open and he drills the three ball! Can Serbia make a comeback like the Aussies. Timeout midway through third quarter.
Marinkovic in the corner and he drills the open three.
Tatum on the back door cut and he gets an easy jam off the out of bounds.
Plesic streaks down the lane for the open lay up.
Petrusev with the floater in the lane and that's the first bucket of the second half for Serbia.
Extra pass from Embiid to Holiday and he hits the three in the corner!
Embiid on the rebound and put back under the basket.
LeBron streaks down the lane and lays it up off the glass uncontested.
Holiday with a pump fake and he pulls the trigger from outside for the three!
Embiid fouled by Petrusev and he goes to the line where he hits both FTs.
WE ARE BACK IN PLAY FOR THE SECOND HALF FROM ABU DHABI.
Curry has been unstoppable after a cold shooting performance last game. He's got 18 points and is 6/9 from the field.
It kind of seems like LeBron is at half gas in this tour, but he's still got 5 points on the night.
ANT man had 11 points in the first five minutes of the game against Australia. He came off the bench today, but He's got 10 and 2 steals
The Serbs came out swinging and hung tight for 10 minutes. Guduric brought his patented brand of hard nose ball to stun USA early on.
Steph went 1/6 and had three points against Australia last game, but came out firing today. He's had the first 9 points of the game for Team USA.
WE ARE HEADING TO HALFTIME WITH TEAM USA UP 59-45.
It was tied after the first quarter, but Curry and Adebayo came out firing.
Adebayo with the three ball in the corner and he's been the best on the court after Curry.
Jokic goes back at Davis after he blocked him a couple straight possessions gets the bucket and the foul. FT is good.
Adebayo running the break and he hits Edwards trailing down the middle for the transition slam.
White to the line in his first action since joining the team late and he hits one of two FTs.
Adebayo wasn't ready for the alley oop but dragged the rebound down and hit the baseline J.
Adebayo with a pull up from the elbow and he hits the fade away jumper.
Jokic take a dribble, take a bump in the lane and hits the fader.
Davis to the line after the foul on Micic and he hits both FTs.
Edwards joins the party from outside and he drills a three ball! Timeout Serbia with 4:12 to go in the half.
Curry to the line after the foul on Avramovic and he hits one of two.
Curry with another three ball and if you were reading earlier, I was waiting for Curry to step up today.
Curry with the lay up down the lane falling to the ground. He's got 14.
Jokic puts it on the deck and lays it up and in down the lane.
Petrusev with the jam off the Micic dish.
Curry opens up on the wing and drills a three ball! He's got 12!
Embiid finds Holiday on the backdoor cut and he lays in up from the baseline.
Avramovic goes right at Embiid and lays it up and in.
Slip pass down to Embiid from LeBron and he gets sent to the line where he makes both FTs.
Timeout Serbia with 7:07 to go in the second quarter.
James off the dribble, puts it over Petrusev and gets the foul. FT is good to complete the three point play.
Micic with the step back three ball from the wing and the Serbians are on a 6-0 run to start the quarter.
Guduric opens the second quarter with a three ball off the bank from the top of the key!
THE FIRST QUARTER COMES TO AN END WITH THE SCORE TIED AT 28-28.
Steph had 9 quick points but Avromovic woke the Serbs up with a couple three balls a while Jokic had 6 points and 5 rebounds.
Petrusev with a long pass ahead to Marinkovic who lays it up and beats the first quarter buzzer!
Edwards to the line after the foul on Marinkovic and he hits both FTs.
Plasvic to the line after the foul on Haliburton and he hits both FTs to tie the game.
Edwards to the line after the foul on Micic and he hits both FTs.
Edwards with the step back from the top of the key and he strokes it.
Micic to the line after the foul on Booker and he hits both FTs.
Adebayo missed the short floater but Davis was there for the put back slam.
Jokic follows his own miss and gets the put back to go.
Bam in the corner and he drills it off the extra pass from Haliburton.
Quick outlet off the Davis missed FT and that leads to a Guduric slam off the break.
Timeout USA with 3:47 to go in the 1st quarter.
Davis to the line after the foul on Petrusev and he hits one of two FTs.
Turnover from Davis and Guduric lobs it up for Petrusiv for the alley oop on the break,
Adebayo off the bench and follows a Booker miss with a tip slam!
Steph opened up the game with the first 9 points of the game after two deep balls, a techincal FT and a lay up. He had just 3 points last game against Australia.
Tatum gets fouled by Guduric and that will take us to our first timeout from Abu Dhabi with under 5:00 to go in the first quarter.
Jokic to the line after the foul on Embiid and he hits both FTs.
Embiid gets on the board for the first time with a mid range jumper.
LeBron pulls up from the elbow and drills the fadeaway.
Jokic with the put back and Serbia are on a 8-0 run.
Avromovic from downtown agains and that's 8 points in a row!
Avromovic pulls up from downtown and strokes the three ball. He's got five quick points.
Curry on the fade away and he's got the first nine points of USA's day.
Avromovic wiggles his way to the basket and lays it up off the glass.
Curry open from downtown and open for buisness for his second triple of the game.
Guduric picks off the Curry inbound and takes it in for the steal and the slam.
Serbia's coach got called for a T after his team made the lay up and Curry hit the FT.
Petrusev goes right to the rack and lays it up down the lane.
Steph gets the game started with a three ball! He hit just one of those against Australia so he's already matched his total of three points from last game.
WE ARE UNDERWAY FROM ABU DHABI!!!
Starters: Serbia
The Serbs are still missing Bogdan Bogdanovic but they have their three time MVP in the starting five. It's Jokic, Dobric, Avromovic, Guduric and Petrusev starting the game in Abu Dhabi.
Starters: USA
Steve Kerr tweaked the starting five in the first two games of the USA Basketball Showcase and today there is a slight change in the first five. It’s Curry, LeBron, Tatum, Holiday and Embiid going up against the three time MVP of the NBA Nikola Jokic.
Joel vs. Jokic
We are fortunate enough to have the winners of the last four MVPs on the court tonight, and they are set for a rare head-to-head match up. Unfortunately, Jokic vs. Embiid showdowns don’t occur as likely as we would like in the NBA. Obviously they are in different conferences, so that means they are only set for a showdown one or two times a year, but injuries and load management have prevented the two from stepping on the court on the same time as much as we might like. Joel Embiid has had to deal with far more injuries throughout his career then Nikola Jokic, and that has prevented us from seeing a showdown of MVPs a few times, but there have been times in which Joel was healthy, and the team decided to rest him against the three time MVP. Today there will be no injuries forcing him to sit, nor will there be any load management. Today we are set for a battle of the bigs in the post from Abu Dhabi.
KD still KOed
Kevin Durant has yet to play in the USA Basketball Showcase, and while Steve Kerr claims he is not concerned about the three time gold medalist calf strain, there might be someone who is that’s even higher up than Coach Kerr. Grant Hill has already sent Kawhi Leonard packing as he saw the Clipper far from his best after suffering a knee injury during the playoffs. Kawhi started camp with USA Basketball in Vegas, but was sent home before the first exhibition against Canada. When asked about Leonard, Hill said felt that he deserved an opportunity to come in and see if we can make it work. And ultimately, a decision was made that we have to pivot, and that's not always easy," It’s a known fact that Hill isn’t giving anyone a free trip to Paris, and Durant is running that risk as long as his calf strain continues to bother him.
Star watch: Serbia
There are plenty of stars on this Serbia side. You may not be familiar with names like Aleksa Avromovic or Filip Petrusev but these guys are huge names in Europe. Obviously, no one on this team is going to be a bigger star that the three time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic who is going to be one of the stories of the Olympics. We all know his relationship with basketball, but when he puts that Serbia jersey on the pride and the passion that we see when he is in his homeland is noticeable for a guy who can come out and get a triple-double seemingly anytime he wants. That’s not to say Jokic isn’t “trying” with Denver, but the love for his country makes him that much more dangerous.
Star watch: USA
How do you pick just one player on this loaded roster for the star watch portion of the preview? Each and everyone of these players are the go to option on their respective teams in the NBA. Look at last game, there was Anthony Edwards who had 11 points in the first five minutes, but then he slowed down as Anthony Edwards carried the brunt of the load for the the rest of the way. When the Americans needed it most it was Tyrese Haliburton, who is a star in his own right, but he is probably the guy you would leave open if you had to choose for anyone to beat you on this team. I want to see Steph Curry in this game. He’s playing for his coach, Steve Kerr, and he had 12 points in the first game against Canada, but hit just 1/6 field goals last game and finished with 6 points.
Last game: Serbia
Serbia took on the Aussies on the second end of a back to back series for the Boomers and the Aussies got the best of Nikola Jokic and the Serbs. The Aussies pulled ahead early and kept that lead until the final few seconds of the first half, but it was another strong fourth quarter finish that allowed the Aussies to pull away and after a 12-0 run late in the game during a period of almost five minutes that the Serbans were held scoreless. Jokic was held to 14 points and 14 rebounds while Patty Mills exploded for 28 points and 5 assists and Dante Exum had 15, 7 and 4 assists in the win.
Last game: Team USA
There was a moment where Team USA looked like they were on the verge of a blow out over the Australian National Team on Monday night in Abu Dhabi. Anthony Edwards came out blazing and and had 11 points in the first five minutes of the game, LeBron hit a couple threes and a 13-2 run at the end of the first looked like it was going to put Team USA up for good. The Boomers came roaring back in the second half and cut a 22 point lead to 6 with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter. It took a couple of clutch rebounds and buckets down the stretch from Anthony Davis who had 17 and 14 rebounds, but it was Tyrese Haliburton who came up with the biggest buckets of the game hitting back to back threes to stretch the lead from 6 to 12.
We are live from Etihad Stadium
Hello everyone and welcome back to UAE where the US Men's Basketball Team is back for a second game from Abu Dhabi. They have started their pre-Olympic Tour with back-to-back wins against some excellent competition but their last game against Australia might have shown some cracks in the foundation. Serbia took on Australia the day after Team USA narrowly edged them out on Monday, and lost to the Boomers. They will look to get back on track against the No. 1 ranked team in the world in a battle of the heavy weights in the desert.
Team USA vs. Serbia
It’s Game 3 of the USA Basketball Showcase as we inch closer to Opening Day of the Paris Olympics. Some of the biggest stars of the basketball world will be on display today from Abu Dhabi as two favorites for gold in Paris go toe-to-toe. It’s USA and Serbia a preview of each team’s opening game of group stages at the end of the month and AS English will be with you all day providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of tonight’s game from Etihad Stadium.