Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and Team USA continued their run of good results during the USA Basketball Showcase on Wednesday with a win over Serbia.
It was the second-straight game at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi for the red, white, and blue. Serbia has reigning MVP Nikola Jokic on the roster, and former NBA players Marko Guduric and Filip Petrusev were also in the starting lineup.
The United States changed their starting five again, moving Jrue Holiday into the opening unit. Serbia parked in the paint on defense early against that group and held an early lead — Steph Curry was the only player clicking for the red, white, and blue at the time.
Haliburton and Team USA’s bench entered the game down by three in the middle of the first period. The Pacers star had an assist to Bam Adebayo for a three after just a few minutes of play, and the score was tied at 28 after one frame.
The starters kicked off the second quarter and earned a lead, and they were replaced by the bench with 4:41 to go until halftime. Haliburton, through, was not a part of the group — instead, Derrick White was mixed in with the bench. Team USA led 59-45 at the break, and Haliburton had one assist at the time.
The game turned into a blowout in the second half. The Adebayo-Anthony Davis frontcourt combination was dominant, and the United States began to run away with the game. Their lead climbed over 25 during the third period, and Haliburton had another assist during that quarter.
He was back in the rotation, and he shared the floor with White in the fourth frame. Clearly, head coach Steve Kerr was mixing and matching lineups to see what bench groups could be best, and that will be important once Kevin Durant is available to return from injury.
With the game already decided, Haliburton had an assist, a rebound, and a steal in the fourth quarter. Team USA ran away with the game and ended up with a 105-79 victory. Serbia will be their first Olympic opponent during group play.
Tyrese Haliburton with two dimes to Bam Adebayo today for threes: pic.twitter.com/LG9isgdilq
— Tony East (@TonyREast) July 17, 2024
Haliburton finished with three assists, one rebound, and one steal. It was his first scoreless game for Team USA during the 2024 outings. He helped take down Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard and team Canada last week.
The United States group now heads to London where they will take on South Sudan and Germany in their final two tune up games ahead of the Olympics.
Source link : https://www.si.com/nba/pacers/news/tyrese-haliburton-from-indiana-pacers-helps-team-usa-topple-serbia-records-three-assists
Author :
Publish date : 2024-07-17 17:51:08
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.