A rematch of the 2016 gold medal game once again ended in the United States' favor.
The U.S. men’s basketball team opened play at the 2024 Paris Olympics with a group stage victory over Serbia on Sunday. The Americans are going for a fifth straight gold medal at these Summer Games, and the roster is dotted with some of the Games' biggest superstars.
Those stars, Kevin Durant in particular, showed up in a big way in the 110-84 win. Durant led all scorers with 23 points on 8-of-9 shooting, including a perfect 5-of-5 mark from beyond the arc.
Team USA ties South Sudan as Group C leaders with the win. The Americans will take on South Sudan on Wednesday as group play continues.
USA TODAY Sports brought live updates, highlights, results and more throughout the game. Here's how it happened.
2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.
Team USA vs. Serbia highlights
When does Team USA basketball play next?
The United States will face South Sudan for their second matchup of the group stage on Wednesday, July 31. The game starts at 3 p.m. ET and will be aired on NBC.
Curry nails final dagger as Team USA defeats Serbia
Curry sunk a 3-pointer from the right wing with five seconds left to put the cherry on top of the United States' 110-84 win over Serbia to open Olympic play.
James draws a foul, converts three-point play
As the clock winds down, the NBA veteran and four-time MVP is still playing hard. He drove to the rim, made a layup and drew a foul before hitting the free throw to complete the play.
Team USA dominating from 3-point range
Though Serbia have taken more 3-point attempts, it's the U.S. that is performing better from beyond the arc. Serbia is 8 of 34 as a team from 3-point range. The U.S. is 16 of 29. Durant leads the Americans with five 3-pointers.
Holiday quiets Serbia run
Serbia cut into the U.S. lead with an 8-0 run, but Holiday hit a step-back 3-pointer from the right corner to put the Americans back on the board.
Durant misses for the first time
Two minutes into the final quarter, Durant missed his first shot: a pull-up jumper from the right side. The crowd in Villeneuve-d'Ascq audibly groaned in reaction as he lost his perfect mark from the field. However, Team USA still leads, 86-68, with seven minutes left.
White opens fourth quarter with block
Serbia's Vasilije Micić took the first shot attempt of the quarter, but the Celtics' guard rejected it.
Team USA still leads through three quarters
With 10 minutes remaining, the United States leads Serbia, 85-64.
Jokić heads to the bench
After playing all of the third quarter thus far, the three-time NBA MVP exits with just over two minutes left in the third quarter.
James and Davis connect on a lob and dunk
The two Lakers teammates showed off their chemistry with a perfectly executed lob pass from James and slam dunk from Davis. The big man drew the foul on the dunk and completed the three-point play. Team USA now leads 78-63.
Durant re-enters for Team USA
With fewer than four minutes remaining in the third quarter, Durant comes back onto the floor to loud cheers from the crowd.
Derrick White enters
White enters for Curry after the Serbia timeout.
James gets the crowd on its feet
The 39-year-old is nearly perfect (8-of-9) from the field and up to 18 points on the day after a tough drive to the rim that forced Serbia to call a timeout and got the crowd going in Villeneuve-d'Ascq.
U.S. makes first substitution of second half
After Embiid gets his third foul, Team USA coach Steve Kerr elects to sub in Anthony Davis to take over for the 76ers' big man. He scored his first points on a layup in the next U.S. possession.
Avramović draws offensive foul on James
Avramović stood tall to take a charge against the 6-foot-9, 250-pound James to force another Team USA turnover.
Referees assess unsportsmanlike foul on Embiid
After the review, the officials determined Embiid's foul was hard enough to assess an unsportsmanlike foul. Aleksa Avramović made both ensuing free throws. The U.S. currently leads Serbia, 63-53.
Official review initiated for unsportsmanlike fouls on Team USA
While playing defense, James and Embiid got tied up with a couple of Serbian players. The referees are reviewing both incidents for possible unsportmanlike fouls.
Curry hobbled early into third quarter
Curry appeared to bang knees with a Serbian defender near the start of the second half. He has remained on the court and is playing through the injury for now.
Team USA second-half lineup
Booker, Holiday, Curry, James and Embiid are back out to begin the second half for the U.S.
Durant keeps U.S. ahead at halftime
As the first half winds to an end, Durant is still perfect from the floor. He drilled a buzzer-beating fadeaway jumper to bring him to seven points since re-entering. He is 8-of-8 on field goal attempts and 5-of-5 on 3-point attempts with 21 total points, still leading all scorers.
James is also perfect from the field so far with 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting, including one 3-pointer. The Americans hold a 58-49 lead at the half.
Kevin Durant dominant since entering
Durant took the floor with 2:30 remaining in the first quarter and leads all scorers with 14 points after six minutes. His 5-of-5 mark from the field includes a 4-of-4 line from beyond the arc. Team USA leads, 36-27, as he heads to the bench.
Team USA leads after first quarter
A lob from James and dunk from Edwards was a final exclamation point to the 11-0 run from the U.S. to end the quarter. Serbia had led, 20-14, when Jokić went to the bench, but Team USA holds a 25-20 lead after the first 10 minutes.
Edwards, Durant quell scoring run from Serbia
After an 8-0 run from Serbia put them back in front, Kevin Durant and Anthony Edwards hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to draw Team USA even. This game is tied at 20 with two minutes left in the first quarter.
U.S. pulls ahead with 12-2 run
A flurry of 3-pointers from Steph Curry and Devin Booker and strong defensive possessions allowed Team USA to pull in front for its first lead halfway through the first quarter. The Americans lead Serbia, 14-12.
LeBron James' slam gets Team USA on the board
After Serbia built a 4-0 lead to begin the game, the United States' flag-bearer stole the ball from Nikola Jokić and ran down the court for an easy dunk to get the U.S. on the board. However, Serbia continued their scoring run thanks to some blunders from the Americans and hold a 10-2 lead after three minutes.
USA vs. Australia: Time, TV, streaming and how to watch
- Date:Sunday, July 28
- Time:11:15 ET
- Location:Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France
- TV:NBC
- Streaming:Peaco*ck, Fubo
How to watch:Catch all of the Paris Olympics with a Peaco*ck subscription
What time is USA vs. Serbia?
The Americans and Serbs tip off at 11:15 a.m. ET.
How to watch USA vs. Serbia at Olympics?
NBC is airing the game. Peaco*ck is live streaming it.
Will Kevin Durant play vs. Serbia?
U.S. men’s basketball star Kevin Durant is expected to play against Serbia on Sunday in the Group C opener at the 2024 Paris Olympics after missing the team’s five exhibition games with a sore calf.
Durant, the men’s all-time leading scorer who is trying to become the first men’s basketball player to win four gold medals, practiced Wednesday, participated in a scrimmage Thursday and planned to practice Saturday.
“We’ll see how things go in practice (Saturday),” U.S. men’s basketball coach Steve Kerr said. "So far so good. He came through the scrimmage two days ago pretty well. … Having coached him before, he’s one of the few guys I’ve been around who can step back out on the court and look like Kevin Durant, a player of his caliber. Most players it would take some time to get your rhythm back, and it will, too, for him to a certain extent. But he’s pretty special.”
Team USA Olympic men's basketball remaining schedule:
Sunday, July 28
- USA vs. Serbia: 11:15 a.m. ET
Wednesday, July 31
- USA vs. South Sudan: 3 p.m.
Saturday, August 3
- Puerto Rico vs. USA: 11:15 a.m.
Team USA roster
- Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat
- Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
- Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors
- Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
- Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns
- Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
- Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
- Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
- Jrue Holiday, Boston Celtics
- LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
- Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
- Derrick White, Boston Celtics
Team Serbia roster
- Vasilije Micić, Charlotte Hornets
- Aleksej Pokuševski, free agent
- Bogdan Bogdanović, Atlanta Hawks
- Nikola Jović, Miami Heat
- Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets
- Marko Gudurić, Fenerbahçe (Turkey)
- Ognjen Dobrić, Virtus Bologna (Italy)
- Filip Petrušev, Olympiacos (Greece)
- Nikola Milutinov, Olympiacos (Greece)
- Dušan Ristić, Pablo Burgos (Spain)
- Vanja Marinković, Partizan (Serbia)
- Aleksa Avramović, Partizan (Serbia)
- Ognjen Jaramaz, Partizan (Serbia)
- Dejan Davidovac, Crvena zvezda (Serbia)
- Uroš Plavšić, Crvena zvezda (Serbia)
- Aleksa Radanov, Runa Basket Moscow (Russia)
Olympic medal count
Our 2024 Paris Olympicsmedal count trackerupdates after every single medal event.
Latest Olympic highlights and results
Follow along with all highlights and results from Sunday with USA TODAY's live blog.
Team USA starting lineup
- Jrue Holiday
- Steph Curry
- Devin Booker
- LeBron James
- Joel Embiid
Team Serbia starting lineup
- Aleksa Avramović
- Bogdan Bogdanović
- Ognjen Dobrić
- Nikola Jokić
- Filip Petrušev
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
