Americans Taught Serbia a Basketball Lesson

(Patria) - USA basketball players convincingly defeated Serbia today in the first round of the group stage of the basketball tournament at the Olympic Games in Paris, writes Sportklub.

The Americans began their defense of the Olympic gold with a high-scoring triumph with a score of 110:84 against world runner-up Serbia in the 1st round match of Group C in Lille.

Game One, Game Won

🇺🇸 #USABMNT x #Paris2024 #Basketball pic.twitter.com/K2gru3J1X9

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 28, 2024

Serbia started the match energetically, taking a 10:2 lead, but then the American coach Steve Kerr called a timeout to rally his players, and that move completely ignited them.

The USA had already taken a 25:20 lead by the end of the first quarter.

By halftime, Serbia was keeping pace somewhat, but there was no help against the Americans' brilliant long-range shooting.

The USA hit 18 out of 32 three-point attempts (56 percent), led by Kevin Durant who made all five of his long-range attempts.

Durant was also the most effective player for the USA with 23 points, LeBron James added 21 with 9 assists and 8 rebounds, while Nikola Jokić was the most effective player for Serbia with 20 points.

Earlier today in the first match of this group, South Sudan defeated Puerto Rico 90:79. Carlik Jones scored 20 for South Sudan, and Jose Alvarado scored 26 for Puerto Rico.

The top two teams from all three groups, along with the two best third-placed teams, will qualify for the quarterfinals.