Having defeated Serbia by 26 points in a friendly match not long ago, the US team just defeated the team ranked 4th in the FIBA ​​rankings by a similar margin at the 2024 Olympics.

When the final whistle blew at Pierre Mauroy Lille Stadium (France), no one doubted Kevin Durant’s fitness, health and injury situation anymore.

The US basketball team, which was already very strong with 5 unbeaten friendlies before the tournament, now seems to have become a “completely different monster” when the 2024 Olympic games officially begin.

Kevin Durant returns after weeks of injury, immediately shining in his first match for the US team this summer
Despite coming off the bench, Kevin Durant scored 23 points on 8-9 FG, in which he shot 3-pointers with a 100% success rate and even played extremely well on defense.

Along with Durant, LeBron James showed his class above the rest, almost having a triple-double with 21 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds. Just like that, the US team won big against Serbia with a score of 110-8 4, opening the Paris Olympics campaign smoothly.

Along with two veteran players leading the team, coach Steve Kerr’s team successfully threw 18 3-pointers , almost giving the team ranked 4th in the world on the FIBA ​​rankings no chance to come back.
LeBron James almost had a triple-double against Serbia, helping the US team win 110-84 to open the 2024 Olympic campaign
The last time Durant wore the US team jersey was the men’s 5×5 basketball final at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.

There, KD showed why he is one of the top scorers in the NBA and the world, scoring 29 points to help the US team defeat France and bring home the gold medal.

This time in Lille, the player with the most points in the history of the US team continued to put on a “scoring show” for the fans, making the packed stands at Pierre Mauroy Stadium feel restless.

Durant made all eight of his first shots, scoring 21 points before the game even entered the final two quarters. In this 8-8 FG streak, Kevin’s 100% 3-point streak (5-5 3PT) was unprecedented in the history of American basketball at the Olympics.
Kevin Durant shot 100% from beyond the 3-point line, finishing the game with 8-9 FG, scoring 23 points in 17 minutes
It seemed like Durant would threaten Carmelo Anthony’s record of 37 points, but his minutes were limited because he was playing his first game after injury.

“I’m pretty tired, to be honest,” Kevin Durant said after 17 minutes on the court against Serbia. “My lungs are still trying to get used to the pace of the game because I’ve been out for so long, but overall I’m happy because I felt like I was shooting well this game.”

“He was given limited time on the pitch to slowly get back into the rhythm of the game. However, Kevin didn’t seem to want to come back slowly, he had an explosive match,” coach Steve Kerr added.
LeBron James shows great determination despite being the oldest player on the team
As for the second star after Kevin Durant, the US team is led by the second oldest player among the 12 teams participating in the 2024 Olympics – LeBron James.

Energetic, passionate and not afraid of collision, James seems to have set an example for his juniors on the same front line on how to approach a match in the national team jersey.

Stephen Curry and Anthony Edwards each scored 11 points in their Olympic debuts. Jrue Holiday scored 15 points with a series of smart runs. Devin Booker contributed 12 points with quality shots.

“I think this is the best match of the whole team since the gathering until now ,” LeBron told reporters about the match, where he and his teammates had 62% FG and 56% 3PT shooting.
Stephen Curry warms up late, scores 11 points in Olympic debut
On the other side of the front line, Nikola Jokic had a lot of trouble against the big three of the US team including Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo. However, he still led the Serbian team with 20 points and 8 assists. Bogdan Bogdanovic contributed 14 points.

This was Serbia’s second consecutive loss to the U.S. in just a few weeks. The two teams previously met in a pre-Olympic friendly, where the U.S. defeated Serbia 105-79 in Abu Dhabi. Coincidentally, both games were by 26 points.

The U.S. will next play South Sudan on Thursday at 2 a.m. Vietnam time, while Serbia will play Puerto Rico on Wednesday, July 31 at 10:15 p.m.