It took three tries, but the US men’s basketball team finally picked up its first win before heading to the Tokyo Olympics. Team USA snapped its losing streak by defeating Argentina 108-80 Tuesday night in Las Vegas.

The convincing victory came 24 hours after Team USA suffered an eight-point loss to Australia in an exhibition game. Nigeria beat the U.S. 90-87 in a shocking upset Saturday.

“I thought we sustained our [stamina] pretty well,” Team USA coach Gregg Popovich said Tuesday, via ESPN. “Against Australia we competed well, rebounded, played defense, ran the floor and had good pace for a half and then it dissipated for a half. Tonight, we maintained that pretty much throughout the game. Hopefully that's a sign we're getting better.”

Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal led Team USA with 17 points and six rebounds apiece. Durant took nine shots in just 24 minutes, leading the team to a commanding 16-point halftime lead.

In two playoff rounds with the Brooklyn Nets, Durant arguably established himself as the best basketball player in the world. Team USA will be incredibly difficult to defeat at the Summer Games if he plays as well as he did in the NBA postseason.

Durant appeared rusty in the first two games, shooting 10-of-26 from the field. Beal only made five field goals total in the two losses. Jayson Tatum missed eight of his 12 attempts against Australia.

Tatum missed Tuesday's game with a sore knee. The injury isn’t considered to be serious, and Tatum was rested as a precaution, according to ESPN.

Perhaps more noticeable is the list of NBA stars who are not playing for Team USA - LeBron James, Chris Paul, Anthony Davis and Stephen Curry, just to name a few. Several players currently competing in the NBA Finals, including the Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker and the Milwaukee Bucks' Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, are expected to join the team after the season.

Team USA won’t have to wait until Tokyo for their shot at revenge against Australia. The two teams are set to meet again in Las Vegas on Friday. It’s Team USA’s second-to-last exhibition before heading to the Olympics, where they will seek a fourth straight gold medal.

Argentina was defeated by both Nigeria and Australia in exhibition games. Australia is viewed as the biggest threat to Team USA in Tokyo.

“Our biggest thing is we have to realize it’s not the NBA and Coach Pop keeps re-emphasizing that every single day,” Beal said. “It’s way more physical. Guys are smarter. These guys have been playing together for five-, 10-plus years. So they have the experience and the chemistry and we’re trying to develop that in a short period of time.”

Team USA starts the Group Phase of the Olympics on July 25.

Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum #0 of the U.S. Team warms up at the 2019 Mtn Dew ICE Rising Stars at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, Feb. 15, 2019. Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
RELATED STORIES