jordan pulse -

United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, July 16, 2024: On July 15, basketball fans around the world witnessed exciting moments with the kickoff of the USA Basketball team’s first game in Abu Dhabi against the Australian team. The USA team secured a 98-92 victory, a surprise given their higher expectations.

For Coach Steve Kerr, the most important outcome of the game, held at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, was the positive strides made in preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympics, where the team aims to defend their title for the fifth consecutive Olympics.

Despite starting joint training just a week ago and having a few practice sessions, the USA team managed to exert better offensive pressure compared to their first preparatory game while maintaining strong defense, keeping a clean record in their preparatory matches. However, the USA team needs to improve certain aspects of their strategy, especially since the fifth-ranked Australian team narrowed the score gap to four points in the final quarter with their defensive (3-1-1) plan.

Kerr commented, "It was a good game, reminding all players of the need to work hard throughout the game. We saw how the players’ pressure dropped in the middle of the third quarter, leading to missed attacks and lost points through easy shots, turnovers, and rebounds. This changed the game’s dynamics, but it provided us with a crucial lesson. It’s better to experience this early in the preparation stages. Today's game offers important material for analysis and study in training sessions."

Anthony Davis led the USA team with 17 points and 14 rebounds, Devin Booker scored 16 points, Anthony Edwards had 14 points, four rebounds, and two steals, LeBron James added 10 points, three rebounds, and three assists, Joel Embiid contributed 10 points, five rebounds, and two steals, while Bam Adebayo scored 10 points. The USA team made 12 three-pointers, with eight players hitting at least one.

The USA team lost the ball 18 times against Australia, compared to 15 times in their 86-72 win over Canada.

Edwards remarked, "We need to stop turning the ball over; that’s the most important thing for us."

The USA Basketball team will play their second and final game in Abu Dhabi against fourth-ranked Serbia on Wednesday, featuring three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. The USA team will then continue their preparatory matches at the O2 Arena in London against the new Olympic participant South Sudan on Saturday. They will face the 2023 Basketball World Cup champions, Germany, on Monday. The USA Basketball team will open their participation in the Olympics on July 28 against Serbia, who will play Australia on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi.

Stephen Curry commented, "We have enough time (to complete preparations), but we must make the most of each friendly game until then."

For the Australian team, aiming for their first Olympic medal, Jock Landale scored 20 points and seven rebounds, and Josh Giddey added 17 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. The USA Basketball team has achieved the best results in Olympic preparatory games in the Dream Team era, with a record of 36 wins and 3 losses. Their last preparatory game loss was to Australia, 91-83, in Las Vegas in 2021.

The USA team used a different starting lineup for the game, with Curry, James, and Embiid starting alongside Edwards and Jayson Tatum, who replaced Jrue Holiday and Devin Booker to form the appropriate lineup for the game. Edwards led the individual results in the USA team’s first preparatory game against Canada five days ago in Las Vegas, scoring 13 points, demonstrating his ability to score within this distinguished team.

Kerr commented on Edwards, "That’s his nature; he’s a high scorer, able to penetrate defenses and reach the basket with strength. FIBA games are physical, and he’s experienced in physical play. I believe he will be one of the top scorers in this tournament."

Absent from the game were Olympic players Kevin Durant, due to a calf strain, and Derrick White, who recently joined the team as an injury replacement and participated in training for the first time on Sunday. Kerr rotated players in groups, with the substitute group consisting of Holiday, Tyrese Haliburton, Booker, Davis, and Adebayo.

The USA team had a notable performance in the first ten minutes. After Curry missed the first three-pointer, his teammates James and Edwards succeeded in making two. Edwards hit his third three-pointer in the first quarter after hesitating in his left-wing position, bringing the team’s three-point shooting rate to 6 out of 10 and 9 out of 16 overall, with a 56.3% success rate, leading the Australian team by 11 points after the first quarter. The USA team also made eight free throws against Australia, compared to 12 free throws in their entire game against Canada, from which they scored five. The Australian team maintained control with strong performance from Landale, Houston Rockets player, scoring seven points and three rebounds in 4:51 minutes, leading the Australian team in rebounds in the first quarter by 13-11.

The USA team’s performance slightly declined in the second quarter, scoring only 8 out of 22 shots, with a 36.4% success rate, but maintaining a notable lead over the Australian team. When the Kangaroos scored 7 consecutive points by Giddey, narrowing the gap to 9 points, Curry intervened at a critical moment to score a three-pointer. The Americans exemplified teamwork, with James securing the ball in the right-wing center, passing it to Tatum in the opposite corner, who passed it to Curry in the left wing instead of advancing to the basket. Edwards passed the ball to Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers star who charged towards the basket to score two points, maintaining his team’s lead by 18 points with 48 seconds remaining in the first quarter, which ended 53-37 in favor of the USA team.

The Australian team returned strongly in the third quarter, scoring 14 points compared to 2 for the USA team, adjusting the score to 67 points to 55 points with 3:02 minutes remaining. However, the USA stars managed the situation with Edwards scoring three points, ending the third quarter 76-61.

Edwards commented, "No room for slack now; we started the third quarter slowly and did not play as a team, even though the substitute group performed much better than the first group. We should follow their lead and ensure we pass the ball more among the team members."

While the indicators favored the USA team, the Australian team came back, leading with 15 points against 3 in the fourth quarter. Matthew Dellavedova stole the ball and passed it to Dyson Daniels, who successfully scored, adjusting the score to 86 points to 80 points with 5:05 minutes remaining. Haliburton quickly scored two consecutive three-pointers from the left corner for the USA team, raising his teammates’ chances. The Australian team managed to narrow the gap to four points twice before the USA team secured the victory, with Booker scoring a two-pointer 32 seconds before the end of the game, followed by four free throws in the final seconds.

Kerr commented on the result, "It takes some time to get used to playing as a team. We might need a few weeks, but we will definitely succeed."