Summer Olympics Men’s Basketball Semi-Final: James & Durant Combined Scoring Leads USA Over Serbia

On July 28th, the Olympic men’s basketball group stage game between Team USA and Team Serbia was held.

The game started with Team Serbia taking the lead by scoring consecutively. Embiid missed two free throws, but LeBron James broke the deadlock with his score. Avramovic then scored six points in a row, giving Serbia a 10-2 lead at the beginning. After a timeout, Curry hit a three-pointer, followed by Booker scoring two consecutive threes, leaving Serbia only one point ahead. Then, Serbia regained their lead again. Team USA made some substitutions, and Durant came off the bench to make a significant contribution. By the end of the first quarter, Team USA led Serbia 25-20.

In the second quarter, Durant’s shooting remained hot, and the USA team quickly widened the score gap to nine points. Jokic, noticing the loss, began to play aggressively, scoring nine points through a combination of dunks and free throws, reducing the gap back to four points. The teams engaged in a back-and-forth battle, with LeBron James stepping up his game in the middle of the quarter. Bogdanovic finally found his rhythm from the perimeter with a three-pointer. However, Durant’s scoring was unstoppable, hitting eight out of eight shots for 21 points in the half. At halftime, Team USA led Serbia 58-49.

**Player Statistics**

**Serbia:**
– Jokic – 12 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
– Dubljić – 10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal
– Avramovic – 8 points, 1 assist, 1 steal
– Bogdanović – 7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
– Mišić – 7 points
– Jović – 3 points, 1 rebound
– Petrović – 2 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
– Gudurić – 1 rebound
– Marinčević – 1 rebound
– Miločević – 1 rebound, 1 steal

**USA:**
– Durant – 21 points, 1 rebound
– LeBron – 12 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists
– Edwards – 9 points, 1 rebound
– Curry – 6 points, 1 assist
– Booker – 6 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal
– Holiday – 2 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 steals
– Embiid – 2 points, 1 rebound
– Davis – 3 rebounds, 1 steal
– White – 1 assist, 2 steals
– Adébayo – 2 rebounds, 2 assists