To the world’s eyes, the USA Basketball Men’s National Team’s 98-92 victory over Australia on Monday offered many thrilling highlights expected from a roster of this caliber, even though the final score was tighter than preferred.

However, for U.S. Coach Steve Kerr and his staff, the most encouraging aspects were the positive strides made by the top-ranked team, which will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics as the four-time defending gold medalists. These insights were gleaned from the USA Basketball Showcase game at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

With a few more practices completed and just over a week together, the Americans displayed improved offensive flow compared to their first exhibition game, while their defense remained strong, leading to a 2-0 record. Nevertheless, there are areas for improvement, especially since fifth-ranked Australia (3-1-1) closed the gap to six points midway through the fourth quarter, causing a stir in the arena as the U.S. lead dwindled to single digits and then to four late in the game.

“It was a good game for us to remind the guys that we have to keep playing,” Kerr said. “We stopped playing there in the middle of the third quarter. We started turning the ball over, we gave up a ton of points at the basket, back cuts, offensive boards. So the game shifted. It’s a good lesson for us, better to learn it now than later. This will be a good tape for us to watch.”

Anthony Davis led the way for the U.S. with 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Devin Booker had 16 points and Anthony Edwards 14 points, four rebounds and two steals. LeBron James added 10 points, three rebounds and three assists, Joel Embiid 10 points, five rebounds and two steals and Bam Adebayo 10 points for the U.S. The Americans hit 12 3-pointers, with eight players making at least one.

However, the Americans had 18 turnovers after 15 in the 86-72 win over Canada to open the USA Basketball Showcase.

“We’ve got to stop turning the ball. That’s the main thing,” Edwards said.

The Americans will conclude its two games in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday against fourth-ranked Serbia and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, before the USA Basketball Showcase shifts to the O2 Arena in London for games against Olympic newcomer South Sudan on Saturday and 2023 FIBA World Cup champion Germany next Monday. The U.S. opens Olympic play July 28 against Serbia, which faces Australia on Tuesday.

“There’s enough time (to clean things up), but we have to take advantage of every game that we have of these exhibition games,” Stephen Curry said.

Jock Landale had 20 points and seven rebounds, while Josh Giddey had 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Australia, which is seeking its first Olympic medal. While the U.S. improved to 36-3 in pre-Olympic exhibitions in the Dream Team era, the last loss was to Australia 91-83 in the USA Basketball Showcase in Las Vegas in 2021.

The U.S. went with a different starting five. Curry, James and Embiid were again on the court for the opening tip, this time with Edwards and Jayson Tatum. Those two were inserted for Jrue Holiday and Devin Booker as Kerr looks for the right combinations. Edwards led the Americans in scoring with 13 points in the USA Basketball Showcase opener five days prior against Canada in Las Vegas. Edwards has shown he will be relied upon for points in this star-laden group.

“That’s just who he is,” Kerr said of Edwards. “He’s a big-time scorer. He gets downhill, he gets to the rim, plays through contact. FIBA is very physical and he’s a very physical player. I think for sure he will be one of our leading scorers during this tournament.”

The only members of the Olympic roster who did not play were Kevin Durant, due to a calf strain, and Derrick White, who just joined the team as an injury replacement and only practiced for the first time Sunday. It led Kerr to sometimes substituting like hockey lines, with the second unit consisting of Holiday, Tyrese Haliburton, Booker, Davis and Adebayo.

The U.S. came out sharp in the opening 10 minutes. After Curry missed the team’s first 3-point shot, the U.S. hit its next four, with James and Edwards each hitting a pair. Edwards hit a third in the opening quarter, a stutter-step stepback from the left wing, as part of the Americans’ 6-of-10 performance from distance and 9-of-16 (56.3%) shooting overall as the U.S. surged to a 32-21 lead after the first quarter. The Americans also got to the line and made all eight free-throw attempts, this after just 12 trips in the entire Canada game and making five. Australia stayed in the game with a strong early performance from Landale, the Houston Rockets player who had seven points and three rebounds in the first 4 minutes, 51 seconds. Australia outrebounded the U.S. 13-11 in the quarter.