LILLE, France — Defending champions the United States won their Group C opener against Serbia 110-84 in front of an ecstatic crowd in one of the most anticipated games of the Olympic men’s basketball tournament at the Pierre Mauroy stadium on Sunday.
Serbia started well and refused to buckle under the pressure of the Americans, with the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and silver medallist Nikola Jokic leading the way by making 20 points.
But the fluidity of coach Steve Kerr’s U.S. team and their potent combination of old stalwarts Lebron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry with newcomers Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton proved too much for the Europeans.
“It’s the best game we’ve played so far (including pre-Olympic exhibition games). I thought they tested us early,” said James.
“(The atmosphere) was phenomenal. Listening to our national anthem, listening to the fans cheer, definitely got a little nervous, my stomach, the butterflies came out, it was different,” he added.
LeBron is at his fourth Olympics after missing out on Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. Another gold medal would tie him with Carmelo Anthony on three golds and one bronze. South Sudan kicked off their campaign with a convincing 90-79 win over Puerto Rico in the earlier men’s Group C match.
Puerto Rico dominated the first half with an impressive display of shooting, Jordan Howard hitting three-pointers to give them a six-point lead at the end of the second quarter.
As unstoppable as they looked, however, an ankle injury forced Jose Alvarado to leave the court moments before the break.
The New Orleans NBA forward returned for the second half, but it proved to be a turning point as South Sudan grew in confidence to move ahead.
Carlik Jones led the African team’s comeback with 19 points, and the crowning moment for South Sudan was Wenyen Gabriel’s thunderous dunk with one minute remaining to give his country its first Olympic basketball victory — only the second by an African country since 1996.
Women’s basketball got underway in Group A with a thrilling 90-89 overtime win for Spain against China and a narrow 58-55 victory by Serbia over Puerto Rico.
Spain overcame a tough challenge from China led by Yueru Li, who scored 31 points, rallying in the final quarter to draw level at 76-76 on a three-pointer from guard Leonor Rodriguez with six seconds remaining.
The Spaniards’ teamwork paid off as Megan Gustafson and Maria Araujo made the most of their opportunities and Rodriguez sealed the win with a free shot after being fouled 13 seconds from the end of the game.
Serbia won a pulsating match that saw Puerto Rico come close in the final quarter but Dragana Stankovic’s free shot sealed victory for the Europeans with five seconds left on the clock.