Although there was still some sloppy mistakes on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, team USA looked a much better prospect against Serbia in their final showcase game with a convincing win.
Team USA Ease Past The Joker’s Serbia In Final Abu Dhabi Showcase
Nikola Jokic and Serbia put up a strong fight in the first half of their showcase game against team USA, but in the second half Steve Kerr’s team started to impress and they eased towards a comfortable 26 point victory.
Steph Curry was on fire early doors, as he dropped three 3-pointers in the first quarter to give team USA an early advantage.
Curry led all scores by the end of the game with 24 points, followed by Bam Adebayo who notched up an impressive 17 points including three 3-pointers.
Depositing the Top Plays from 🇺🇸 #USABMNT vs 🇷🇸 Serbia into the @SoFi video bank! pic.twitter.com/fVQWe5Dtt6
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 17, 2024
The win wasn’t easy all the way for the USA though, with turnovers again causing problems in the first quarter as Serbia rallied to end the first period level.
However after the first quarter it was completely one way traffic for the USA, with bench players providing 28 points in the first half alone.
Joel Embiid still started for the USA, despite calls for Anthony Davis to start on Wednesday. Davis continues to give Steve Kerr a selection headache, with six blocks off the bench and another stellar performance from the Lakers star.
Elsewhere on the court Derrick White earned his debut for the USA, providing three points after replacing Kawhi Leonard on the roster over the weekend.
The win against Serbia takes USA to a record of 3-0 in their showcase games as they head to Europe for the final two legs of their warmup ahead of the Olympics.
USA will face World Cup winners Germany as well as South Sudan in London next week, before they head to Paris ahead of the first Olympics matchup and a rematch against Serbia on the 28th of July.