Australia proved to be a tough opponent for the U.S. men's basketball team, but in the end, Team USA's star power once again separated them from the competition. The game was close late but Carmelo Anthony and Kyrie Irving took over in the fourth quarter and Australia had no answers.
USA vs. Serbia 2016, Olympic basketball: Time, TV schedule and team news
Team USA is looking for its fourth straight win.
Now Serbia is next, and while they haven’t been as impressive as the Boomers in the Olympics, Team USA can’t relax or it might need their scorers to bail them out once again.
The game that will tip off at 6 p.m. ET and will be televised by NBC Sports Network.
There's some recent precedent for this matchup in a high level competition. Serbia faced the U.S. in the Finals of the 2014 FIBA World Cup. There were no equivalences on that match, as Irving led Team USA to an easy 37-point win. Serbia will need to show a lot of improvement if it hopes to stay in the game this time around, although the pressure won't be as high. While a title was on the line back then, the standings in Group A are almost set. If Serbia loses and then beats Venezuela in the final group matchup, they will still make it to the knockout stage and face Group B's winner.
Kevin Durant and Anthony have been the top scorers for the most dominant team in the tournament and they should give Serbia plenty of trouble. While Milos Teodosic and Bogdan Bogdanovic make for a quality backcourt and Nikola Jokic and Miroslav Raduljica anchor the middle, the European powerhouse is not as strong at the forward positions, especially without Timberwolves forward Nemanja Bjelica, a star in the 2014 FIBA World Cup. It will take a team effort to prevent the American stars from going off, but it's almost impossible to imagine Serbia shutting down the two elite scorers.
The one thing that could make this a close game is complacency from an American team that just beat its most dangerous opponent and is seeing a clear path to the gold medal, with Spain struggling. If the U.S. is already thinking about the next stage, Serbia might catch them unfocused and go off to a good start. If Team USA comes ready to play, however, it’s hard to imagine this matchup going down to the wire.
USA vs. Serbia info
Time: 6 p.m. ET
TV: NBC Sports Network
Streaming: NBC Sports Live
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