Despite missing the five friendly games due to a calf injury, Kevin Durant proved his readiness by leading Team USA to a commanding 110-84 victory over Serbia in their Group C opener. Returning to the lineup, he came off the bench and provided a massive spark, scoring 23 points on an almost-perfect shooting night.

Questions surrounding Durant’s health heading into the Olympics were swiftly silenced as he delivered one of his most impressive performances in international basketball. His resume as the most accomplished American basketball player in the Olympic setting continues to build.

Durant was confident that he’d be ready to play on Sunday after he went through multiple full practices and felt great after scrimmaging on Saturday. “The other day when we scrimmaged, right after that, I felt great,” Durant explained. “Right after I scrimmaged, I felt good. No pain. I was able to get up the next day and had a regular routine. So I knew I’d be able to play.”

Regardless of what Team USA would require of Durant, he was eager to provide it. “I told coach whatever he needs from me, I’m willing to do anything and adapt to anything,” Durant told reporters after the game. “It’s always been fun trying to figure out new roles and adapt to whatever the game tells you.”

Team USA head coach Steve Kerr had the utmost confidence in Durant’s ability to step right back into game competition and make an immediate impact. “I’ve coached Kevin for three years. Maybe more than any player I’ve ever been around, when he comes back from absence, you don’t notice it,” Kerr explained. “He’s so skilled, he just looked like he was in midseason form after not playing in a real basketball game for a couple of months. Pretty incredible.”

While Durant’s dynamic outing stole the show on the night, it was undoubtedly necessary for Team USA to get back on track after a rather disappointing start.

Team USA had a slow start before Kevin Durant changed the game!

Serbia started strong, opening the game with a 10-2 run, which prompted a quick timeout from Team USA head coach Steve Kerr. Despite their early lead, Serbia couldn’t sustain their momentum against the relentless U.S. offense and defense. Nikola Jokic led Serbia with 20 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds, while Bogdan Bogdanovic and Ognjen Dobric contributed 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Anthony Davis, who also provided a spark off the bench for Team USA by doing the dirty work on both ends, felt the group really improved after a slow start. “It was good for us. They came out with a lot of intensity. We were giving up offensive rebounds, giving up back cuts,” Davis explained. “They were playing really well, were making shots. We turned the ball over in the first half. But we came back locked in and put some stops together.”

Kevin Durant’s first half was nothing short of spectacular. He scored 21 points in the opening 20 minutes, making all eight field goal attempts, including 5 of 5 from three-point range. This performance sparked comparisons to Olympic history’s most significant scoring bursts, reminiscent of Carmelo Anthony’s 37 points in 14 minutes against Nigeria in 2012.

Durant became the first player to reach 450 career points scored on this stage in the program’s history. He knew what his role was when he entered the game: get buckets. “It felt good to make some shots,” Durant said “Everybody played their role pretty well tonight. My role was to come in, provide patience and shot-making for the team, go out and knock ‘em down.”

Serbia attempted various defensive strategies, from smaller defenders like Vanja Marinkovic to bigger players like Filip Petrusev, but none could contain Durant. His dominance set the tone for Team USA, helping them to a nine-point lead at halftime. Durant continued to shine in the second half, adding two free throws to his tally before missing his first shot with eight minutes remaining in the game. He finished with 23 points in just under 17 minutes of play.

Davis had major praise for Durant, crediting him for keeping Team USA afloat with his scoring flurry, saying, “Kevin Durant kept us alive in the first half with his scoring ability, and we just fed off of that.”

Reflecting on his performance and the support from the fans, Durant said, “I felt good. My endurance is not up to the level I wanted to get up to. 27,000 – that’s insane. There are so many NBA jerseys, there is so much support for the game of basketball. It made me emotional to start the game. I love when people come together to watch the game.”

Durant praised the group for being unselfish and focused on winning games instead of being driven by stats. “We just have to continue playing for one another. Nobody cares about stats,” Durant explained. “Nobody cares about who shoots the most. We’re all just trying to win a basketball game. That’s the beauty of basketball when you can have that type of teamwork.”

Durant’s scoring punch was well-paired with LeBron James’s strong start early on and timely shotmaking from teammates like Stephen Curry, among others. Overall, the game’s later stages proved to be a display of force for the Americans.

LeBron James and Kevin Durant were unstoppable as Team USA flexed dominance over Serbia

LeBron James also made a significant impact, celebrating his Olympic return with 21 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds in 27 minutes. His first miss came at the 8:28 mark of the third quarter, highlighting his efficiency and contribution to the team’s victory. James’s presence, alongside Kevin Durant’s, provided a formidable challenge for Serbia.

Serbia had some spurts of momentum in the first half, including an 8-0 run that reduced Team USA’s lead to 46-44 midway through the second period. However, Durant fired back with a turnaround jumper before Jrue Holiday finished a breakaway layup off a steal. Durant hit another turnaround jumper, making it a 58-49 advantage for the Americans at halftime.

Dobric had a positive takeaway from this stretch of the game, feeling as though Serbia proved it could hang with Team USA. “We showed that we can compete with them. I’m not saying we’re better or have more quality than them, but we can for sure compete with them,” Dobric stated before explaining how this was the case despite Durant’s explosive performance, adding, “The first half showed it, and even with Kevin Durant’s unbelievable role, we were hanging in there. I don’t think the final score is realistic. We could’ve lost by less than this.”

The United States’ shooting performance was a critical factor in their victory. They shot 12 of 18 from beyond the arc in the first half and finished the game 18 of 32, contrasting to Serbia’s 9 of 37. This disparity in shooting efficiency helped the Americans maintain and extend their lead, ultimately securing a comfortable win.

With such a high volume of three-point attempts, Serbia head coach Svetislav Pesic felt his team was taken out of character from its ideal approach. “While we had the rhythm, while we were precise with our offensive schemes, everything looked differently,” Pesic explained. “Then we lost that, started taking a lot of early shots, we attempted 34 three-pointers which is not really our way of playing. That’s just evidence that we lost the organizing part of our offense.”

James felt this was the best performance Team USA has produced when reflecting on each game the group has played, including the five-game exhibition schedule. “That’s the best game we played so far,” James detailed. “I thought they tested us early. We kind of (lost) our composure. The second group came in and gave us a big lift. K.D. was phenomenal. It was almost like he never missed a beat or a practice or anything.”  

Other standout performances for Team USA included Jrue Holiday quietly adding 15 points, four rebounds, and three assists; Devin Booker had 12 points and five assists, and Stephen Curry and Anthony Edwards scored 11 each.

Team USA boasted a balanced offensive attack that enabled ball movement to lead to re-drive chances, and a “random offense,” as Durant calls it, was instrumental. “The beauty of tonight is we played a lot of random basketball on the offensive side,” Durant said before also praising the collective focus on defensive execution, saying, “Defensively, we were talking to one another the whole game. That communication and that random basketball made us tough to stop.”

While a double-figure victory tends to bring many positives, there were some subplots to consider before Team USA takes on South Sudan in Wednesday’s matchup at Pierre Mauroy Stadium.

Joel Embiid struggled, and Jayson Tatum’s DNP-CD sparked significant controversy

There are clear stretches when Joel Embiid has struggled to make a positive impact either on offense or defense while going away from him in favor of Anthony Davis, which resulted in what feels like a cleaner fit. As brilliant as Kevin Durant was, Embiid being subbed out seemingly contributed to Team USA’s momentum.

The more significant controversy was the many observers’ dismay at Jayson Tatum’s joining Tyrese Haliburton as one of the two players on the 12-man roster who didn’t receive any playing time.

While a superstar who just led the Boston Celtics to an NBA title like Tatum not receiving playing time in the Olympics is shocking to many, Kerr acknowledged how wild this comes off. He emphasized the difficulty of finding minutes for more than 10 players in a 40-minute game. “I thought I was crazy when I looked at everything and determined that these are the lineups that I want to get to,” Kerr revealed before praising the talent Tatum brings, adding, “Jayson is first team all-NBA three years in a row, he’s one of the best players in the world, but I went with the combinations that I felt would make sense.”

While it’s difficult not to receive playing time, Kerr complimented Tatum on his professionalism in handling the news and the situation. “I talked to him; he’s incredibly professional,” Kerr expressed.

However, Kerr did clarify that just because Tatum didn’t play against Serbia doesn’t mean he will stay out of the rotation going forward. “That’s tonight; it doesn’t mean it’s gonna stay that way the rest of the tournament. He’ll make his mark,” Kerr stated. The key to this whole thing is to put all the NBA stuff in the rearview mirror and just win six games.”

It remains to be seen what Team USA’s rotation will look like going forward, especially considering Durant may also be moved back into the starting lineup at some point. Tatum remains an intriguing option to consider if more of a reliable wing scorer is needed. Regardless, his struggles from the perimeter make it more challenging to justify taking playing time from alternative options.

There are some questions to consider moving forward. Should Durant start? Who should Team USA remove from the rotation in favor of Tatum? Is it time for Embiid to come off the bench? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.