Anthony Davis, Devin Booker lead Team USA past Australia
Another day, another victory for Team USA, thanks to standout performances by two former Cats. Anthony Davis and Devin Booker came off the bench to lead the Americans to a 98-92 win over Australia in the second game of the USA Basketball Showcase, a five-game exhibition series to warm up for the Olympics, which begin next week in Paris.
Davis finished with a team-high 17 points and 14 rebounds in just 18 minutes, his second straight double-double after putting up 10 points and 11 rebounds in last week’s win over Canada. Booker had 16 points on 4-7 from the floor and a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line, along with three rebounds and two assists in 18 minutes. Bam Adebayo also scored in double figures, with 10 points, also in 18 minutes.
Today’s game took place in Abu Dhabi in front of a record crowd of 12,217 fans. While Team USA got the win, there is clearly some work to do before the Olympics next week. Australia had 68 points in the paint, exposing Team USA’s softness in the middle, and cut the lead to four twice in the final minute. A pair of three-pointers by Tyrese Haliburton and four of Booker’s seven free throws helped Team USA seal the victory.
On Wednesday, Team USA will face Serbia, its first opponent in the Olympics. Serbia is led by Nikola Jokic, a six-time NBA All-Star, three-time NBA MVP, and the MVP of the 2023 NBA Finals. NBA players Bogdan Bogdanovic, Aleksej Pokusevski, and Vasilije Micic are also on the Serbian National Team, which finished in the top ten of the FIBA Eurobasket Tournament in 2022.
Wednesday’s game will also take place in Abu Dhabi, tipping off at 12 p.m. ET on FS1. From there, the USA Basketball Showcase will move to London, England, where Team USA will finish its Olympic prep with exhibitions vs. South Sudan (including Wenyen Gabriel) and Germany.
USA vs. Australia Highlights
USA vs. Australia Box Score
| Starters | MIN | FG | FG% | 2PT | 2PT% | 3PT | 3PT% | FT | FT% | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +/- | EFF | PTS |
| Jayson Tatum | 21 | 3-4 | 75.00 | 3-3 | 100.00 | 0-1 | 0.00 | 1-2 | 50.00 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 10 | 7 |
| Lebron James | 21 | 3-8 | 37.50 | 1-4 | 25.00 | 2-4 | 50.00 | 2-2 | 100.00 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -3 | 9 | 10 |
| Joel Embiid | 16 | 3-6 | 50.00 | 2-5 | 40.00 | 1-1 | 100.00 | 3-4 | 75.00 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 10 |
| Anthony Edwards | 27 | 5-11 | 45.45 | 2-6 | 33.33 | 3-5 | 60.00 | 1-1 | 100.00 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -3 | 14 | 14 |
| Stephen Curry | 21 | 1-6 | 16.67 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 1-6 | 16.67 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -3 | -1 | 3 |
| Bench | MIN | FG | FG% | 2PT | 2PT% | 3PT | 3PT% | FT | FT% | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +/- | EFF | PTS |
| Tyrese Haliburton | 18 | 2-4 | 50.00 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 2-4 | 50.00 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 6 |
| Jrue Holiday | 18 | 2-5 | 40.00 | 1-2 | 50.00 | 1-3 | 33.33 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 5 |
| Bam Adebayo | 18 | 4-5 | 80.00 | 4-5 | 80.00 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 2-2 | 100.00 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
| Anthony Davis | 18 | 6-12 | 50.00 | 5-11 | 45.45 | 1-1 | 100.00 | 4-6 | 66.67 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 26 | 17 |
| Devin Booker | 18 | 4-7 | 57.14 | 3-3 | 100.00 | 1-4 | 25.00 | 7-7 | 100.00 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 23 | 16 |
| Langston Galloway | 0 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nigel Hayes Davis | 0 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Micah Potter | 0 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Derrick White | 0 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kevin Durant | 0 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Team USA Basketball Exhibition and Olympic Schedule
| Date | Time (ET) | Opponent | TV | Stage | Location | Result |
| July 10 | 10:30 PM | Canada | FS1 | USA Basketball Showcase (Exh.) | Las Vegas, Nevada | 86-72 W |
| July 15 | Noon | Australia | FS1 | USA Basketball Showcase (Exh.) | Abu Dhabi, UAE | 98-92 W |
| July 17 | Noon | Serbia | FS1 | USA Basketball Showcase (Exh.) | Abu Dhabi, UAE | |
| July 20 | 3:00 PM | South Sudan | FOX | USA Basketball Showcase (Exh.) | London, United Kingdom | |
| July 22 | 3:00 PM | Germany | FOX | USA Basketball Showcase (Exh.) | London, United Kingdom | |
| July 28 | 11:15 AM | Serbia | NBC | 2024 Paris Olympics, Group C | Lille, France | |
| July 31 | 3:00 PM | South Sudan | NBC | 2024 Paris Olympics, Group C | Lille, France | |
| August 3 | 11:15 AM | Puerto Rico | NBC | 2024 Paris Olympics, Group C | Lille, France |
Related
Monday Headlines: Kentucky in the college basketball rankings
The Kentucky Wildcats found themselves in a low point on Saturday night when they were stunned in an 85-65 defeat by Ohio State. Going into the game, the Wil
Was the Ohio State Loss a One-Off or a Bad…
More people thought Kentucky would blow out Ohio State than vice versa, but that’s exactly what happened Saturday at Madison Square Garden. The Buckeyes comp
Transitive property? Not in this chaos: Kentucky basketball ruined it…
The most common refrain Kentucky fans could hear from other Kentucky fans after and even during the loss to Ohio State last night was an annoying fact that Aubu
Mark Pope expects Kentucky to ‘respond beautifully’ following loss, holiday…
“We are breaking camp after the game on December 21 — if we win.” Those were Mark Pope’s final words ahead of Kentucky’s trip to New York City for th
