Tyrese Haliburton plays 15 minutes in USA Basketball's exhibition win over Serbia
Team USA improved to 3-0 in exhibition play, going 2-0 in Abu Dhabi, with a blowout win over Nikola Jokic and Serbia. Bam Adebayo and Anthony Edwards led USA off the bench.
The U.S. Men’s Basketball Olympic Team faced another challenging opponent Wednesday. Playing their second exhibition in Abu Dhabi, the Americans took control of the game in the second quarter en route to a dominant 105-79 victory.
Two days ago, Anthony Davis and Anthony Edwards guided USA past Australia 98-92.
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton played nearly 15 minutes off the bench in Wednesday’s game, which tipped off at noon ET. He did not score — he missed his only shot (a 3-pointer) — and finished with three assists, one rebound, and one steal.
Haliburton did not get his usual bench minutes with the second unit early in the second half. Instead, head coach Steve Kerr went to newcomer Derrick White of the Boston Celtics for the first time in those minutes with the reserves. White — who has only participated in one full practice — joined Team USA this week, arriving separately to Abu Dhabi, after Kawhi Leonard was ruled out in Las Vegas due to ongoing knee concerns.
However, Haliburton played the bulk of his minutes in the second half — including almost six minutes in the final quarter. He finished the game with White, plus three players who practice against the team each day: ex-Pacer Langston Galloway, Nigel Hayes-Davis and Micah Potter.