Kevin Durant hit a long-range shot before the halftime buzzer and finished with a team-high 23 points to lead USA Basketball to a commanding 110-84 victory over Serbia in their Paris Olympics opening.
Despite not participating in any of the United States national team’s five exhibition games, the Phoenix Suns star went 8-for-9 from the floor, including a perfect 5-for-5 from three-point range. Durant did it all off the bench, playing nearly 17 minutes.
He has been struggling with a slight calf issue since the start of training camp and was seen practicing for the first time on July 19th.
Durant’s performance was undoubtedly catch-and-shoot, as he only had two rebounds, one personal foul, and no assists against Nikola Jokic’s Serbia.
Devin Booker had a fantastic three-point shooting performance, going 4-for-5 with five rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes. LeBron James and Jrue Holiday provided the rest of the offensive spark, scoring 21 and 15 points, respectively.
On Wednesday, USA Basketball continues its group play against South Sudan (1-0). The coverage begins at 12:00 p.m. MST on USA.