Team USA holds off Germany in final pre-Olympic exhibition
The final two exhibitions haven’t been pretty for Team USA, but wins are still wins.
On Monday in London, the Americans held off Germany by a final score of 92-88 in the final pre-Olympic matchup before heading off to Paris later this month. Team USA just narrowly defeated South Sudan on Saturday, 101-100, thanks to a go-ahead game-winning layup from LeBron James despite entering as 43-point favorites.
Like South Sudan, Germany gave everything that Team USA could handle, leading for big chunks of Monday’s exhibition before coming up just short down the stretch. James scored 11 points in the final four minutes to lead America to a perfect 5-0 stretch in pre-Olympic exhibitions.
Kentucky’s trio of former Wildcats saw plenty of action against Germany, with Devin Booker receiving the start while Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis came off the bench. Booker finished with just three points (1-6 FG), two rebounds, one assist, and one block in 25 minutes of action. Adebayo and Davis both saw 14 minutes, with Adebayo contributing four points (2-4 FG), six rebounds, and one block and Davis adding 10 points (3-5 FG), seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block.
Through five pre-Olympic trial run games, Booker averaged 7.2 points per game, Adebayo averaged 8.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, and Davis averaged 11.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, and three blocks per game.
With the exhibitions finally in the books, the results now matter from here on out. Team USA will first have to fight through Group Phase C where they’ll take on Serbia, South Sudan, and Puerto Rico before hopefully making it to the tournament portion of the event. The Americans — ranked No. 1 in the world — already beat Serbia (led by three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic) and South Sudan (which features Wenyen Gabriel) in the exhibitions.
Below is Team USA’s Group Phase schedule for the 2024 Paris Olympics:
- July 28 vs. Serbia (11:15 AM EST)
- July 31 vs. South Sudan (3:00 PM EST)
- August 3 vs. Puerto Rico (11:15 AM EST)
This year’s Olympics will be anything but a cakewalk for Team USA. The field is arguably as talented as it has been in history and features some of the NBA’s top international players such as Jokic (Serbia), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Victor Wembanyama (France), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada), and Franz Wagner (Germany), among many others.
Kevin Durant, who is on Team USA’s roster, did not participate in any of the exhibitions due to injury. However, he is expected to be ready to go for Sunday’s Olympic opener against Serbia. But even if he doesn’t suit up, the Americans will still have the most talented group — will it be enough to overcome the chemistry that other countries bring?
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard