Stephen Curry admits that playing on a stacked USA Olympic team, where he isn't expected to carry the offense as he does with the Golden State Warriors, requires significant adjustment. The star point guard scored just three points in 22 minutes during USA's 98-92 win over Australia in a warm-up game in Abu Dhabi on Monday, a game where the Americans almost blew a 20-point lead in the last 15 minutes.

Lakers center Anthony Davis came off the bench to lead USA's scoring with 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Minnesota Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards followed with 14 points, four rebounds, and two assists.

"It's an adjustment, not just for me, for everybody," said Curry, who will be making his Olympics debut in Paris this summer. "Even how we're rotating the lineups right now, just because we're trying to get a feel for different combinations. You're going five minutes at a time, then you sit. Hockey subs, that's different, how we're playing with the talent around, that's a different adjustment. It's just a mindfulness of knowing where your shots might come and being ready for those."

Head coach Steve Kerr mentioned before the game that he planned on testing different starting lineups during these exhibition games. For this game, he tweaked the first unit from last week's win over Canada, keeping LeBron James, Curry, and Joel Embiid but starting Edwards and Jayson Tatum instead of Jrue Holiday and Devin Booker.

Kevin Durant remains sidelined with a calf strain, while Davis, Booker, Holiday, Bam Adebayo, and Tyrese Haliburton served as the second unit, alternating with the starters throughout the game.

USA led by 20 points midway through the third quarter, but Australia narrowed their deficit to just six points with five minutes left in the fourth. Back-to-back threes from Indiana Pacers' Haliburton briefly got the Americans back on track, but the Boomers upped the pressure and nearly erased the gap.

Australia's Jock Landale, Josh Giddey, and Dyson Daniels finished in double digits, combining for 51 points.

Kerr said Monday's game, the second of five friendlies USA will play before the Olympics, served as a warning against complacency and a reminder to maintain effort after building big leads. He expressed confidence that there is enough time for the group to iron out the kinks before their Olympics opener against Serbia in Lille on July 28.

Kerr paid special tribute to Davis, who also found himself in an unfamiliar role by coming off the bench. "He was amazing tonight, he's been fantastic those first 10 days or whatever we've been together," said Kerr. "Obviously we've got a lot of talent, every single guy is capable of starting and playing big minutes. The strength of our team is our depth and we have to utilise that depth and put pressure on teams for 40 minutes, regardless of the combinations."

Next up for USA is an exhibition clash on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi against Serbia, led by reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. Jokic and his Serbian teammates were in the stands and watched the first half of the USA-Australia game.

"They're a great team. They're in our pool in Paris and we're going to have to beat them when it counts in a couple of weeks, but it'll be good to get a good feel for what we're going to face," said Curry of the 2023 World Cup silver medalists. "They have a very strong, big, physical team and we have to match that physicality and be able to play Team USA basketball. It would be good to get some film on it too."