Team USA ran away from Serbia for a 105-79 exhibition game victory on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi to improve to 3-0 on the team’s pre-Olympics tour.
Bam Adebayo scored at will – inside and out – and helped Anthony Davis make life difficult for Serbian star and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić. Davis had six blocks, including a pin off the glass at the eight-minute mark in the fourth quarter that preceded a standing ovation.
Adebayo had 17 points and seven rebounds and Steph Curry had 18 points in the first half and finished with six threes and 24 points.
Team USA made 16 of 36 shots from three-point range.
Jokić was 3-of-10 shooting and finished with eight points.
Curry corralled a loose ball and with a lightning release from the left wing, splashed his fifth three-pointer of the game to inflate the US advantage to 90-63 before LeBron James emphatically stamped a right-handed slam off a lob from Adebayo. The next possession was a highlight reel of dribbling and passing that ended with another Curry three, followed by James getting downhill and powering for a lefty finish and 31-point lead.
Jokić touched the ball on nearly every possession and passionately implored teammates to dig in defensively to no avail. Jokić spent the fourth quarter seated with Serbia and the US to meet again in the first Pool C game for both countries in the Olympics on 28 July.
Shooting and depth stood out as the US gathered around Jokić on the defensive end and spread the ball around with extra passes. Adebayo drained a three from the top of the key to push the lead to 81-53 late in the third quarter.
Team USA ended the first half with a finishing kick sparked by high-energy defense and led 59-45 thanks to the bench outscoring the starters, 30-29.
Curry had 18 points in the first 20 minutes. He rattled off a solo run of nine consecutive points at the midpoint of the second quarter and Anthony Edwards nailed a three to give the US a 47-40 edge with 4:12 left in the half.
Adebayo stretched the run to 13-2 with consecutive baskets bookended by a pair of Davis rejections of Jokić shots in the lane. After Davis altered another Jokić shot to start the break, Edwards flushed one to extend the lead to 56-42.
Team USA play two more games before the Olympics begin with pool play this month, with South Sudan up next Saturday in London.