USA Basketball beats Canada 86-72 in opening game on way to Paris Olympics

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USA Basketball beats Canada 86-72 in opening game on way to Paris Olympics

For USA Basketball, the path to Paris Olympics started with a win.

Anthony Davis scored 13 points, Stephen Curry added 12 points and the United States opened its practice schedule for the Paris Olympics with an 86-72 win over Canada on Wednesday night.

Jrue Day scored 11 points and Anthony Davis ended with 10 exhibitions in the United States, where there were four more before going to France.

RJ Barrett scored 12 points for Canada, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander And Dillon Brooks each person has 10

President Barack Obama was in attendance at the game, as were several NBA coaches and dozens of USA Basketball luminaries in town for the league’s 50th anniversary celebration. Among them: Jerry Colangelo, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Dawn Staley, Lisa Leslie, Teresa Edwards, Swin Cash, Lindsay Whalen and many more.

And the total attendance was 20,757, a record for any game at T-Mobile Arena, USA Basketball said.

Canada vs USA Highlights | USA Basketball Showcase

Cold start

The U.S. trailed 11-1 midway through the first half, missing its first six shots. The rest of the half: U.S. 40, Canada 22, and the Americans shot 18 of 28 — 64.3 percent — in that period. The lead was 41-33 at the end of the first half, and the Americans extended it to 69-54 entering the fourth.

It was easy to see that the Americans, who had been together less than a week, were still struggling to figure things out; at least four times simple passes ended up in the first row because someone thought the line would zig rather than zig.

Second unit

Second Unit of the United States — Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton And Jayson Tatum — is particularly impressive. Each of those five players had a plus-minus rating of plus-10 or higher, meaning the U.S. scored at least 10 more points than Canada when they were on the court.

And that’s the way it should be. Only the Americans can field an all-star “reserve” team at the Olympics. That quintet includes 21-time All-Stars, two NBA champions in Davis and Tatum, and two perennial All-Defense players in Davis and Adebayo. It’s not a typical second unit.

Oh, and remember: The United States has no Kevin Durant (calf strain) and Derrick White (not yet on the team) available on Wednesday.

For Beginners

The first starting lineup of the summer was released by American coach Steve Kerr: Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker, LeBron James And Joel Embiid.

That could certainly change in the future. But if the past year is any indication, it’s a clear look into Kerr’s current thinking.

Kerr has cautioned in the past against reading too much into a team’s lineup, especially from the first practice match. That said, the first five he had in his first exhibition match last summer ahead of the World Cup — Mikal Bridge, Jalen Brunson, Jaren Jackson son., Brandon Ingram and Anthony Edwards — were starters in the tournament opener against New Zealand.

The USA team will play Australia in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Monday.

According to The Associated Press.

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