Stephen Curry scores 24 in USA basketball’s 105-79 win over Serbia in Olympic warmup

Stephen Curry was relatively quiet offensively during the U.S. men’s basketball team’s first two exhibitions before the 2024 Paris Olympics.

He got a lot more assertive on Wednesday with his official Olympic debut less than two weeks away.

Curry scored 24 points, Bam Adebayo added 17 and the U.S. beat Nikola Jokic’s Serbia 105-79 to improve to 3-0 in its five-game slate of exhibitions in advance of the Paris Olympics. 

Anthony Davis finished with seven points, six rebounds and six blocks, helping to lead a U.S. defensive effort that limited Serbia throughout. Anthony Edwards had 16 points. LeBron James added 11.

The U.S. led by as many as 31 points in the last of a pair of warmup games in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Americans now head to London to play two more tuneups before heading to France. The first is Saturday against South Sudan, followed by a matchup with Germany on Monday at London’s O2 Arena.

The U.S. had an uneven start before using a 16-2 run in the second quarter to take a 56-42 advantage and led 59-45 at halftime.

Jokic had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Serbia. Aleksa Avramovic added 14 points. Serbia was playing its second game in two days, coming off a loss to Australia on Tuesday in which it rested captain Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Wednesday’s matchup was an important preview for the Serbians and U.S., which will both compete in Group C at the Olympics. They open their quests for gold against each other on July 28.

FINISHING STRONG

After nearly squandering a big lead in its narrow victory over Australia on Monday, there was no such letdown for the U.S. this time.

The Americans led by 25 after three quarters and quickly increased it to 30 in the final quarter.

LINEUP SHUFFLE

The U.S. used its third different starting lineup, going with Curry, James, Jrue Holiday, Jayson Tatum and Joel Embiid.

The only constants over the three exhibitions have been Curry, James and Embiid.

One of the reason’s Embiid’s presence on the roster was a desire for the U.S. coaching staff this cycle was to counter bigger teams like Serbia, which features a trio of 7-footers.

Embiid’s conditioning still isn’t at its peak. But he was active on both ends, finding cutters on the offensive end and being an active deterrent in the lane on defense.

ENERGY SHIFTERS

For the second straight game, the U.S. reserves provided a spark. Edwards, Davis, Adebayo, Tyrese Haliburton and Devin Booker entered the game for the first time with 4:54 remaining in the opening quarter and trailing 16-13.

The U.S. proceeded to outscore the Serbians 15-12 the rest of the period to tie the game at 28 entering the second quarter.

The American reserves accounted for 28 points off the bench in the first half.

STILL NO DURANT

Kevin Durant sat for the third straight game as he continues to recover from the calf strain he suffered early during training camp.

But guard Derrick White made his debut after joining the team over the weekend as Kawhi Leonard’s replacement .

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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