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2024 Paris Olympics

Durant, James lead Team USA to 110-84 blowout win over Serbia in 1st Olympic game

© John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Durant and LeBron James could not be stopped in Team USA’s 110-84 blowout win over Serbia in their first game of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

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Durant, who was playing in his first game with the national team coming off a calf strain, and James started a combined 14-for-14 from the field and ended up with 44 points between the two of them. Durant had a team-high 23 points on 8-of-9 shooting (5-for-5 from 3) and was a +20 in 17 minutes, while James finished 9-for-13 from the field and also had nine assists and eight rebounds.

Team USA used the same starting lineup as they did in their last two exhibition games with Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker, James and Joel Embiid. Durant was the last sub off the bench for the U.S., but it did not matter for him, as he had 21 first-half points. Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum saw no playing time, as Durant, Derrick White, Anthony Edwards, Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis highlighted the bench unit.

Including Durant and James, the U.S. had six players finish in double figures. Holiday ended with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Booker cashed in four triples on five tries for 12 points and also had five assists, two rebounds and two steals. Edwards and Curry each had 11 points for the U.S., who shot an incredible 43-for-69 (62%) as a team and 18-for-32 (56%) from 3.

Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic led Serbia with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting, eight assists and five rebounds, while Bogdan Bogdanovic had 14 points and six rebounds. The Serbians went 31-of-74 (42%) from the field and 9-for-37 (24%) from 3. The best team stat for the Serbians was forcing 17 U.S. turnovers.

This was the first group play game for both teams, who are in Group C. Team USA’s 26-point win gives them a big boost to start in this group, which also features South Sudan and Puerto Rico. South Sudan defeated Puerto Rico 90-79 earlier today.

Game Flow

The Serbians started the game on a 10-2 run, converting five of their first six shots from the field. Shortly after, Booker led the U.S. back into the game with two straight 3s and sparked a 9-0 run to give them a 14-12 lead. Serbia then went on an 8-0 spurt of their own before Durant checked in and hit a 3, then Edwards drained one of his own and Durant hit another wide-open look. This was part of an 11-0 run to close the quarter and put the U.S. up 25-20 entering the second quarter.

Durant continued his hot start into the second quarter, scoring eight more points to give the U.S. a 35-25 lead before he checked out with 6:40 remaining in the first half and 14 points on 5-f-5 shooting (4-for-4 from 3). Serbia would not go away, cutting the U.S. lead to only four, 40-36, before James hit a triple that started a 6-0 spurt for Team USA. Then, the Serbians responded with an 8-0 run, as Durant came back in the game and ended the run with another jumper.

Durant then hit a 3-pointer and beat the buzzer with an incredible fadeaway to give the U.S. a 58-49 lead in the first half. James was right behind Durant’s 21 points on 8-of-8 shooting with 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting of his own, as Team USA shot a remarkable 22-for-33 (67%) from the floor and 12-for-18 (67%) from deep in the first half. Jokić recorded 12 points and four assists for Serbia in the half.

Team USA began the third quarter with five straight points. James finally missed with 8:31 left in the third quarter, the first miss between him and Durant after a combined 14-of-14 start. This did not slow down James at all, as he continued to take over to give Team USA a 14-point lead, 73-59, with 4:15 left in the third. At this point, James had 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting, seven assists and four rebounds. The U.S. had their biggest lead of the game at 84-65 heading into the fourth quarter, as Edwards scored his 11th point of the game with five seconds remaining in the quarter. Team USA was shooting 33-for-50 (66%) and 13-for-21 (62%) from 3 through the first three periods.

After the U.S. scored the first two points of the fourth, Serbia went on an 8-0 run, but the U.S. then answered with their own 7-0 run and led 91-73 with under five minutes to go. Another 8-0 U.S. run, highlighted by two more Booker 3s closed the door on the game, as Team USA was up 101-79 with under two minutes left. Since point differential matters, the U.S. did not take its foot off the gas and a Curry 3 with five seconds left gave them the 110-84 win, which was also their biggest lead of the game.

Next Up

Team USA will play their second game of group play on Wednesday (July 31) against South Sudan at 12 p.m. MST. South Sudan barely lost to Team USA in an exhibition a couple weeks ago.

Devin Booker starting, Kevin Durant coming off bench for Team USA’s 1st Olympic game

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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau

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