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PARIS - The U.S. men’s national basketball team started its march toward what the players hope is a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal, with a 110-84 victory over Serbia on Sunday.
Three-time gold medalist Kevin Durant made his return to the court, scoring 23 points (21 in the first half), and making his first eight shots in the game. LeBron James added 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
“Everybody played their role pretty well,” Durant said. “My role was to come in and provide spacing and shot-making for the team, and I’m glad I was able to knock them down.”
Durant missed all five exhibition games that the U.S. played ahead of Paris, due to a calf strain. He’s hoping to make his own history in Paris - seeking a record fourth Olympic gold medal in men’s basketball.
U.S. coach Steve Kerr, who spent three seasons with Durant at the Golden State Warriors, brought Durant off the bench, rather than using him in the starting lineup.
“More than any player I’ve ever been around, when he comes back from a long absence, you don’t notice it,” Kerr said. “He’s so skilled and he just looked like he was in mid-season form after not playing in a real basketball game for a couple of months.”
The game against Nikola Jokic and Serbia was expected to be the most significant test of the men’s team’s opening round. Jokich, a three-time NBA MVP, scored 20 points with five rebounds and eight assists. Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 14.
“The whole approach was that the strength of our team is depth,” Kerr said of Jokic. “And we’ve got three guys who can guard him. And that was the approach, rotate guys onto him and cross your fingers because he’s a brilliant player.”
The game also marked a return to the Olympics for LeBron James after a 12-year gap.
“It was phenomenal,” James said. “Listening to our national anthem, listening to the fans cheer, definitely got a little nervous, my stomach, the butterflies came out.”
James said the game was the best the team has played so far.
“I thought they tested us early. The second group came in, gave us a big lift,” he said.
To win its fifth straight gold medal, the men’s team has to advance out of its four-team group in the opening round of the tournament, and then win three consecutive games in the knockout round.
“Very, very important to get off to a good start in this tournament because every game is so big,” said Stephen Curry, who scored 11 points in his first game as an Olympian. “You want to get the gold. Serbia’s a great team, they run a very intricate offense and a very physical defense. KD was unbelievable in the first half and gave us a huge boost, and our defense in the second half opened the game up.”
The men’s national team will next face South Sudan on Wednesday, which is playing in the Olympics for the first time. During exhibition play this summer, the U.S. team narrowly avoided a loss to South Sudan, 101-100, to remain unbeaten.
Copyright 2024 NPR
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