Team USA handles Serbia 105-79 in Olympics exhibition; Durant misses third game
LAS VEGAS – Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant missed a third Team USA exhibition game with a calf strain, but the national team improved to 3-0 on its showcase schedule with a 105-79 win Wednesday over Serbia in Abu Dhabi.
Suns team owner Mat Ishbia said during an interview Wednesday on "The Pat McAfee Show" that he's hopeful Durant will "be playing soon" for Team USA.
"There's 1000% support," Ishbia said. "I mean, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, it's an honor they were selected and they want to represent their country. The last thing I'm going to ever do is say, 'Hey, what about this?' Go over there and win a gold medal, represent our country."
Stephen Curry paced Team USA to its most lopsided exhibition victory with 24 points, going 6-of-9 from 3, while three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic paced Serbia with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
It was the second of a back-to-back for Serbia, which lost Tuesday, 84-73, to Australia.
Team USA had four players score in double figures as Bam Adebayo finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, Anthony Edwards went for 16 points and LeBron James chipped in 11 points.
Booker added three points for Team USA after his 16-point effort in Monday's 98-92 win over Australia.
Team USA led by as many as 31 points.
Team USA will now head to London for its final two exhibition games against South Sudan and Germany before beginning group play in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The national team opens Olympic Group C play on July 28 against Serbia in Lille, France.
Durant is a three-time Olympic gold medalist and Team USA's all-time Olympic leading scorer in men's basketball. Ishbia said he'll likely go over to Paris to watch Team USA and support Booker and Durant.
"That's what we do," Ishbia said. "We're part of each other's team, part of each other's lives, supporting our team. I think they're having a great time. I know they just played earlier today and how Kevin is not playing, but he'll be playing soon, hopefully. I hope they bring home the gold for USA."
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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