Team USA Men’s Basketball Beats Nikola Jokic and Serbia in Opener of Olympics

The United States men’s basketball team got off to a good start in the 2024 Paris Olympics with a 110-84 victory over three time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and Serbia on July 28th. Lebron James, playing in his first Olympics since 2012, had 21 points and nine assists in 27 minutes of action. Stephen Curry, playing in his first Olympics ever, believe it or not, scored 11, and Jhrue Holiday added 15. But the star of the show was Kevin Durant, who came off the bench and scored 23 points in just 17 minutes, and led the U.S. in scoring. Durant was five for five from three point range. Durant had been questionable with a calf injury, but was cleared to play.

Link to highlights

Jokic, who, if you’ve forgotten, plays for the Denver Nuggets, led Serbia with 20 points. The Serbian team includes three other NBA players: Nikola Jovic of the Miami Heat (scored five points in this game), Bogdan Bogdanovic of the Atlanta Hawks (14 points), and Vasilije Micic of the Charlotte Hornets (11 points).

Next up for the US: South Sudan on July 31st. This sounds like an easy one, but South Sudan lost by just one point to the U.S. in an exhibition game on July 20th. South Sudan opened its Olympic play with a 90-79 win over Puerto Rico. It was South Sudan’s first ever Olympic win.