Anthony Edwards led the way for the American side in the group's first tune up ahead of the Paris Olympics.
Team USA kicked off its pre-Olympic tour Thursday night in Las Vegas with a comfortable 86–72 victory over Canada in the USA basketball showcase opener.
Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards led the way for the veteran-heavy group, pouring in 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting to pioneer a balanced team effort. Stephen Curry added 12 points and LeBron James filled up the stat sheet in the win. Though the final score may have indicated a rather uneventful win for the American side, the start of the game was quite the opposite. Canada raced out to an 11–1 lead in the opening four minutes of the first quarter as Team USA, which just began practice a few days ago, appeared disjointed. Even by the time the first quarter came to an end, the U.S. still trailed 21–14.
However, the second unit—led by Edwards and Jayson Tatum—quickly got the Americans back on track. Team USA opened the second quarter on a 14–2 run and never relinquished the lead again, relying on a stifling defense that forced 11 steals and held Canada to a measly 33.8% shooting night.As is natural when featuring a game so rich with talent, the highlights kept on coming. Midway through the third quarter, with the U.S.
Team USA will return to action Monday against Australia when the showcase continues in Abu Dhabi on Aug. 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET.Zach Koons is a programming editor at Sports Illustrated who also specializes in Formula One news and analysis. He started as a breaking news writer at SI before joining the programming team in 2023.
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