USA men’s basketball begins gold medal defense with dominant win over Serbia

The U.S. men’s basketball team’s gold medal defense tipped off in earnest Sunday at the Paris Olympics, with a 110-84 win against Serbia to open group play.

Kevin Durant led the way for USA, scoring 23 points on 8-of-9 shooting. Durant, who missed all of exhibition play leading up to Paris, looked dominant coming off the bench. LeBron James, playing in the Olympics for the first time since 2012, recorded 21 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists, picking up where he left off in London 12 years ago.

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Nikola Jokić, a three-time NBA MVP, led Serbia with 20 points and 8 assists, adding 5 rebounds for good measure. But the Serbians were overwhelmed by the talent on the USA side. After a back-and-forth first quarter, the United States took the lead late in the opening 10 minutes and never gave it up the rest of the way.

USA’s shooting was off the charts in its opener. The U.S. shot 62.3% from the field, including 56.3% from three. Moving players like Devin Booker and Stephen Curry around off the ball proved problematic for the Serbian defense, and the States’ other perimeter stars were able to take advantage of their screens and movement. Meanwhile, the front-court rotation of Joel Embiid, Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis was stout defensively, walling off the paint for practically every Serbian player outside of Jokić.

Contributions came from all over the U.S. roster. Jrue Holiday scored 15 points in addition to his on-ball defensive prowess. Booker had 12, while Curry and Anthony Edwards each added 11. Edwards brought his trademark attitude as well, inviting some Serbian defenders to dance on a couple of his buckets.

While Durant’s return beefed up the USA attack, it also tightened the rotation. Durant came off the bench and seemingly put Jayson Tatum on ice — for now. Tatum, a reigning NBA champ, didn’t see any action in the opening game. With plenty of firepower on the wing between James, Durant, Booker and Davis, coach Steve Kerr opted for more defensive-minded players next to them, ironically in Tatum’s Celtics teammates Holiday and Derrick White.

Though the U.S. is a heavy favorite to win its fourth-straight gold medal, Sunday’s win was impressive. What Serbia lacks in NBA depth it makes up for in cohesion. Serbia won silver during last year’s FIBA World Cup, and also features current NBA stars Nikola Jović and Bogdan Bogdanović.

USA’s next group game is against South Sudan on Wednesday. The two teams played recently, with the U.S. eking out a 101-100 win on July 20.