LeBron James, Anthony Davis help Team USA cruise to victory against Serbia

Team USA gained another exhibition win thanks to a second-quarter surge, where Anthony Davis dominated defensively.

In preparation for the Olympics, LeBron James and Anthony Davis helped Team USA defeat Serbia 105-79 in Abu Dhabi.

It was a slow start for LeBron and Team USA, who trailed early in this matchup, but James and Davis both got going in the second quarter as Team USA took over. LeBron ended the night with 11 points and two assists and Davis had seven points six rebounds and six blocks in the win.

Team USA will play South Sudan next on Saturday at 12 p.m. PT on FS1.

Team USA’s starting lineup included Steph Curry, Jrue Holiday, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid, and LeBron James.

Curry was activated and aggressive early, scoring nine points, but he was the only one who started strong for Team USA as they trailed early in the first.

Midway through the first quarter, Anthony Davis came into the game with Team USA’s second unit and got going immediately, defending Nikola Jokić and scoring a handful of points to even the score at 28 after one.

In the second quarter, the backup combo of Davis and Bam Adebayo helped lead the charge for Team USA. Davis made big blocks and Adebayo scored inside and from 3-point range. LeBron also got going offensively, attacking the paint and muscling his way to the rim.

Serbia had no answer for Team USA and the boys in blue held a comfortable 59-49 lead at the break.

The third quarter was quiet for LeBron, but Davis remained on the floor protecting the rim as Adebayo and Anthony Edwards dominated offensively. Serbia’s offense completely tanked, managing just nine points in the third.

Entering the final frame, Team USA led by 25 points, and the game was essentially done.

Davis continued to be a monster defensively as he rejected a couple more shots, which the crowd responded to with thunderous applause. With the lead remaining unchanged, Davis was subbed out and done for the night with a little over seven minutes left.

Funnily enough, Kerr put LeBron in for garbage time so he could get some more minutes.

This might be the first time in his career that LeBron played during such an insignificant point in a game. However, he made the most of it and converted on a lob dunk that got the crowd back into it.

A few possessions later, Curry had another deep 3-pointer, followed by a Lebron and one play and Team USA never let up. They maintained their advantage and cruised to victory.

Key Takeaways

Team USA has continued to dominate, but Joel Embiid has been bad.

With Davis and Adebayo playing so well, Team USA head coach Steve Kerr has to consider either backup big as a starting option.

Every game has followed the same script, with Team USA struggling early and getting hot after Bam and AD were on the floor. You can’t risk the gold medal in Paris by not starting your best five and so far, the one thing we know is that Embiid hasn’t been playing well enough to earn that starting gig.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.