US men’s basketball team beats Serbia 110-84 in opener

Kevin Durant scored 23 points and LeBron James had 21 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to help the U.S. men’s basketball team rout Serbia 110-84 in its first game at the Paris Olympics.

Durant made his first eight shots from the floor, coming off the bench after a calf injury sidelined him for all of the exhibition games leading up to the tournament.

The Americans are looking to win a fifth consecutive gold medal. They next play Tuesday against upstart South Sudan, which won for the first time at the Olympics earlier Sunday.

▶Read more about men’s basketball at the Olympics

LeBron James is strutting, and the U.S. men’s basketball team is following his lead, going up 84-65 on Serbia in its Olympic opener.

James, who had 12 first-half points, added six more in the third quarter to help the Americans pull away.

He is also letting his emotions show, flexing as he walked up the court during a timeout after he muscled in a layup between two Serbian defenders.

Everyone on the U.S. team has scored except Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton, who have yet to play.

Serbia’s Nikola Jokic is up to 16 points.

South Korea now has six medals at the Paris Olympics, the same total as Australia, after two roommates each broke the world record in the women’s 10-meter air pistol.

Oh Ye Jin took the gold and Kim Yeji the silver in the shooting event Sunday.

“She is like my youngest sibling, and I always want to care for her and always be there for her. So, when she won the gold medal, I was extra happy,” said silver medalist Kim, who at 31 is 12 years older than her teammate.

“I do not view her as my rival. This is a big stage, the Olympics, and we won the gold and silver. When we won these medals, we were so proud we are Koreans. I thought it did not matter who won the gold.”

The U.S. has also won six medals: one gold, three silver and two bronze.

▶Read more about South Korea’s shooting triumph

Joel Embiid chose to play for the U.S. instead of France at the Paris Olympics. And the French aren’t letting him forget about it.

French fans attending the U.S. men’s basketball team’s Olympic opener against Serbia on Sunday have been forceful with how they feel about the NBA star for the Philadelphia 76ers and native of Cameroon.

He was met with boos whenever he’s done anything on the court — be it during pregame introductions, coming off the bench, touching the ball — anything.

France granted Embiid naturalized citizenship status in 2022 even though he has never lived there.

▶Read more about the U.S. men’s basketball team

The U.S. started slowly in its Olympic opener against Serbia and reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. Then the team turned to two guys who have been MVPs in their own right.

Kevin Durant and LeBron James combined for 33 points to stake the U.S. to a 58-49 halftime lead.

The duo is perfect from the field: Durant is 8 for 8 for 21 points, while James is 5 of 5 for 12, helping the U.S. overcome an early 10-2 deficit.

Jokic has 12 points and four assists.

Durant, who came off the bench after sitting out every exhibition game prior to the Olympics recovering from injuring one of his calves during training camp, ended the half with a fadeaway jumper that beat the buzzer.

He fell backward to the ground and was swarmed by teammates. Stephen Curry even did a little shimmy.

Rafael Nadal is off to a winning start in singles play at the Olympics, beating Marton Fucscovics in three sets.

Nadal, who broke Fucscovics to go up 3-2 in the third set before having part of his right ring finger taped up, finished off his opponent to win 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

The victory sets up a blockbuster showdown against rival Novak Djokovic in the second round at Roland Garros, where Nadal has won the French Open a record 14 times.

Nadal also won his doubles opener Saturday night, playing alongside Spanish countryman Carlos Alcaraz.

Kevin Durant missed all five of the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team’s warm-up games with a calf injury.

Didn’t miss a beat, though.

The all-time men’s scoring leader in U.S. Olympic history checked in off the bench Sunday against Serbia and put on a dazzling display in his first shift — scoring 14 points in his first five minutes, going 5 for 5 from the field in that span.

The U.S. bounced back from falling behind 10-2 to lead 25-20 after the first quarter.

Durant is bidding to become the first four-time gold medalist in men’s Olympic history.

Rafael Nadal had part of his right ring finger wrapped in the middle of the third set of his Olympic-opening singles match against Marton Fucscovics.

Nadal motioned with his right hand during the previous game, which he won to go up 3-2 in the set. During the break, a trainer taped up the lower part of the finger.

The Spaniard and fan favorite from his careerlong success at the French Open plays left-handed but uses his right for his two-fisted backhand.

Nadal won the first set before dropping the second.

The U.S. men’s basketball team was met with mix of cheers and jeers during pregame warmups for its Olympic-opening game against Serbia.

About an hour before tipoff, fans packed the lower level of Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Ille to be in place when players from the U.S first hit the floor for their pregame shooting routine.

The first players to arrive to arrive were LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who were met with an ovation. Stephen Curry, Anthony Edwards and Jayson Tatum received a similar welcome.

But after the early arriving U.S. players went back to the locker room, about a half-hour later the crowd made an even louder roar when Serbia — led by reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic — took the floor. Fans waved their country’s flag overhead and chanted, “SER-BIA! SER-BIA!”

By the time the full U.S. team joined its opponent on the floor, Serbia’s growing contingent was able to drown out an initial ovation from U.S. fans with a chorus of boos.

Game on.

▶Read more about how the U.S. prepared for the Paris Games

Maria Araujo hit a 3-pointer with 3:06 left in overtime as Spain finished off a rally and beat China 90-89 to open women’s basketball group play at the Paris Olympics with a flourish.

Spain had a chance to win in the final seconds of regulation. Leonor Rodriguez was knocked to the floor on her tying 3-pointer with 6.5 seconds to go, only to see her free throw rim out leaving the score tied.

▶Read more about Spain’s victory

It’s after 4 p.m. in Paris, and Simone Biles and Rafael Nadal are on center stage at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Biles dazzled in gymnastics qualifying, leading her group and qualifying for the all-around final despite dealing with a left calf injury. Nadal won the first set of his opening match against Marton Fucscovics after being unsure he would participate in Olympic singles play.

• Swimming: France’s Léon Marchand swam the fastest qualifying time in the men’s 400-meter individual medley. He goes for gold in the final later at 2:30 p.m. EDT. The women’s 100-meter butterfly at 2:40 and the men’s 100-meter breaststroke final at 3:40 are among the other medal events left to contest.
• Basketball:Kevin Durant is available to play as the U.S. men’s basketball team opens the tournament against Serbia at 11:15 a.m.
• Rugby sevens: A day after France’s men’s rugby team won the first gold medal for the host nation by beating Fiji in the final, the women’s team takes the field against Brazil at 11 a.m. and Japan at 2:30.

▶Read more about what to watch at the Paris Olympics.

Nadal took the first set 6-1 against Fucsovics, who is ranked 83rd and never has been past the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam tournament.

Just 13 minutes in, another ovation arrived for Nadal to mark the 3-0 lead he grabbed against an overmatched Fucsovics.

Nadal won 13 of the first 17 points.

Nadal waved quickly as he walked out on court and spectators throughout the stands held phones aloft to capture the moment.

They began chanting “Ole!” during the warmup, then Nadal’s nickname, “Ra-fa! Ra-fa!” as the match started under a blue sky.

Nadal has entered Court Philippe Chatrier ahead of his first-round singles match against Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics.

A full crowd at the main tennis stadium greeted him with a standing ovation.

It’s the same court where Nadal has won his record 14 French Open titles. A steel statue of the Spaniard sits outside the arena.

Biles is one of the high-profile Black women back at the Olympics after recent personal struggles.

Biles, tennis player Naomi Osaka and sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson have all been vocal about mental health and public critique.

▶ Read more about Biles and how she’s leading the charge for older gymnasts in Paris.

Olympics organizers apologized Sunday to anyone who was offended by a tableau that evoked Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” during the glamorous opening ceremony.

Religious conservatives from around the world decried the segment, with the French Catholic Church’s conference of bishops deploring “scenes of derision” that they said made a mockery of Christianity.

The ceremony’s artistic director Thomas Jolly had said it was meant to celebrate diversity and pay tribute to feasting and French gastronomy.

▶ Read more about the wacky and subversive Olympics opening ceremony

Cardboard beds might be Paris’ solution to providing athletes a place to sleep for the 2024 Olympics.

But some 10,000 miles away in Tahiti, where the surfing competition is taking place, it’s a cruise ship.

Olympic officials say it is the first-ever floating athlete village.

▶ Read more about the event at the Olympics in Tahiti, halfway around the world from most of the action in France.

Early Sunday, organizers canceled a pre-race triathlon event planned for the Seine River over continued concerns about water quality.

Heavy rain during the opening ceremony revived concerns over whether the Seine will be clean enough to host swimmers when the triathlon competition starts on Tuesday.

▶ Read more about the Seine River water and Paris Olympic organizers’ efforts

Landi said Biles’ calf issue issue popped up a couple of weeks ago and described it as minor. Landi said there was no discussion of pulling Biles’ from the event.

1 of 7 | 

Actor Tom Cruise takes pictures with fans during a women’s artistic gymnastics qualification round at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Read More

2 of 7 | 

Frankie Grande, left, Ariana Grande, center, and Cynthia Erivo, right, attend the women’s artistic gymnastics qualification round at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Read More

3 of 7 | 

Anna Wintour, Vogue editor, speaks with attendees at the women’s artistic gymnastics qualification round at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Read More

4 of 7 | 

Nick Jonas, middle left, John Legend and his wife Chrissy Teigen, right, attend the women’s artistic gymnastics qualification round at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Read More

5 of 7 | 

Snoop Dogg attends the women’s artistic gymnastics qualification round at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Read More

6 of 7 | 

Actor Tom Cruise, center right, watches during a women’s artistic gymnastics qualification round at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Read More

7 of 7 | 

Jessica Chastain, center, wears a top with an American flag fashioned onto it as she attends the women’s artistic gymnastics qualification round at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Read More

The Palais Omnisports was packed with celebrities there to watch Simone Biles. Read more about who was there.

U.S. gymnastics coach Cecile Landi said that she was proud of Biles but did not specifically address what happened with her leg.

“I can’t express it,” she said. “I’m really proud of her and what she’s been through and what she’s showing the world what she’s capable of doing.”

Nadal’s manager says he will compete in tennis singles. His first-round match is scheduled for Sunday afternoon against Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics.

Biles finished first in all-around in her qualifying group with a score of 59.566, 3.434 ahead of Sunisa Lee, who is second, with fellow U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles third.

She was still limping when she left the venue.

The five U.S. gymnasts have crushed the filed in their subdivision. They are now posing for photographers. The final results of qualification won’t be known until late Sunday when all other countries have finished their respective rotations. The U.S. team has a 5.435-point lead over Italy, with China in third place for now.

Biles now leads all qualifiers in her group with an all-around score of 59.566. The U.S. team total of 171.33 is also first.

Biles did not try her new element in her uneven bars routine. The execution was flawless. She has dismounted and waves to the crowd, who responds with a huge roar. After looking somber earlier in the day, she now smiles. Score 14.433.

Biles is first in her qualifying group on the vault and floor exercise and second to Algeria’s Kaylia Nemour on balance beam going into the uneven bars, her final apparatus.

Biles is warming up on the uneven bars, under the careful eyes of both coaches Laurent and Cecile Landi. She has now dismounted and waves to people in the crowd. She does a bit of stretching but does not seem to be in pain.

Biles was seen limping after her landing. She will next move to her uneven bars routine where she is hoping to unveil a new skill that if she completes will be named after her

Biles made an easier attempt on her second vault and scored a 14.8.

After Biles teammates Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey both delivered clean vaults, it’s now her turn to take on the apparatus. She is speaking with coach Cecile Landi. Let’s see if she tries her signature Yurchenko Double Pike. She is the only woman to perform it in competition.

Biles and her U.S teammates are now on vault. Biles has been warming up with her left ankle taped. It’s unclear whether she had a problem with her leg or if it’s just a precaution.

Simone Biles briefly left the floor and said she has discomfort in her left leg but continued her quest to return atop the Olymipc podium Sunday.

The 27-year-old American and the five-woman U.S. gymnastics team took the floor at a packed, star-studded Bercy Arena during the second qualifying subdivision for the Paris Games on Sunday. The Americans are heavily favored to win the team gold after finishing runner-up to Russia three years ago in Tokyo.

Biles dazzled during her opening beam routine, then briefly left the floor with USA team doctor Marcia Faustin. She returned a short time later and spent several minutes sitting and watching her teammates.

Biles was heard on camera saying she felt something in her calf but stepped onto the competition floor with the leg taped. She appeared just fine when Taylor Swift’s “Ready for It” began playing and her routine — the hardest in the world — was solid. She walked gingerly off the floor and sat off to the side for a moment before receiving a hug from longtime coach Laurent Landi.

She received a 14.600, assuring her a spot in the event finals next week.