LAS VEGAS – In their first joint match leading up to the 2024 Paris Olympics, the U.S. men’s basketball team defeated Canada 86-72 in an exhibition match on Wednesday.
For the United States, Anthony Edwards had 13 points, Stephen Curry had 12 and Anthony Davis had 10 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. LeBron James added seven points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in 19 minutes, while July Holiday had 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
The United States is favored to win a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal, while Canada, with NBA players such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray and RJ Barrett, is a medal favorite looking to reach the Olympic podium for the first time since winning silver in 1936.
The U.S. will play Olympic warm-up matches against Australia (July 15) and Serbia (July 17) in Abu Dhabi, and South Sudan (July 20) and Germany (July 22) in London. The U.S. will open its Olympic games against Serbia on July 28.
This was a good start to the exhibition schedule for the U.S., given that the U.S. team has only practiced together four times and Canada has a medal chance.
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U.S. coach Steve Kerr started James, Curry, Holiday, Devin Booker and Joel Embiid, but the U.S. lost 11-1.
But one luxury Kerr had that other teams didn’t have was that his next five were Anthony Edwards, Jayson Tatum, Bam Adebayo, Davis and Tyrese Haliburton, who started a 14-3 run to put the U.S. ahead 28-23.
The U.S. led 41-33 at halftime and then nine straight points, including two 3-pointers from Curry, pushed it to a 50-37 lead. Edwards’ buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter gave the U.S. a 69-54 lead.
The USA’s much-needed size and defensive prowess were on full display as they outrebounded Canada 53-48, blocked nine shots and held Canada to a 33.8 percent shooting percentage. The USA shot 50.7 percent from the field despite making just 7 of 23 3-pointers.
“It’s a good first game for us,” Kerr said. “It’s still early days. We were a little rusty offensively and had a lot of turnovers, especially in the first half, but I thought our defensive intensity and our work with rebounding was great.”
“So it was a good first try and we needed to set the tone for how we wanted to play and I think we did that.”
The U.S. was down to 10 players. Kevin Durant was out with a calf strain and the U.S. replaced Kawhi Leonard with Derrick White, who will join the team in Abu Dhabi.
Barrett led Canada with 12 points, while Dillon Brooks and Gilgeous-Alexander had 10 points apiece.
