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Americans win at Olympic exhibition

VaselineJuly 11, 2024

0 2 minutes read

LAS VEGAS – The U.S. men’s basketball team is playing its first game together in preparation for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. defeated Canada 86-72 in an exhibition game on Wednesday.

Anthony Edwards had 13 points, Steph Curry had 12, Anthony Davis had 10 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, American LeBron James added seven points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in 19 minutes, Jrue Holiday scored 11 points. Five rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

The U.S. is hoping for its fifth straight gold medal at the Olympics, and Canada’s NBA roster — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murry and RJ Barrett — is a contender for its first Olympic podium finish since taking silver in 1936.

In preparation for the Olympics, the U.S. will play Australia (July 15) and Serbia (July 17) in Abu Dhabi, and South Sudan (July 20) and Germany (July 22) in London. The U.S. opens the Olympics on July 28 against Serbia.

It was a strong start to the training program for the U.S., whose squad trained together four times and underscored Canada’s medal potential.

American coach Steve Kerr started James, Curry, Holiday, Devin Booker and Joel Embiid in the starting lineup and the Americans trailed 11-1.

But the luxury no other team has is Kerr’s front five of Anthony Edwards, Jayson Tatum, Bam Adebayo, Davis and Tyrese Halliburton, who helped spark a 14-3 run for a 28-23 U.S. lead.

The U.S. led 41-33 at halftime and opened a 50-37 lead on nine straight points, including two 3-pointers by Curry. Edwards hit a 3 late in the third quarter to give the U.S. a 69-54 lead.

The scale and security the Americans so desperately needed were on full display. They outrebounded Canada 53-48, blocked nine shots and held Canada to 33.8% shooting. Despite making just 7 of 23 3-pointers, the USA shot 50.7% from the field.

“It was a good first game for us,” Kerr said. “We’ve just gotten started — four days of practice. You see some rust on the offensive side (and) a lot of turnovers in that first half, especially. But I like the defensive intensity and the glass work.

“So it was a good first attempt, we had to set the tone for how we wanted to play, and I think we did that.”

USA is down to 10 players. Kevin Durant missed the game with a calf injury and the US replaced Kawhi Leonard with Derrick White, who will join the team in Abu Dhabi.

Barrett led Canada with 12 points, with Dillon Brooks and Gilgeous-Alexander each having 10.

VaselineJuly 11, 2024

0 2 minutes read

Vaseline

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