ALMOST everything was falling for Kevin Durant inside the Pierre Mauroy Stadium on Sunday (Manila time), as he showed the way in Team USA's statement 110-84 victory vs. Serbia to commence their 2024 Olympic campaign.
Durant nearly went perfect from the field, missing just one of his nine field goals and also made both of his free throws for a grand total of 23 points in only close to 17 minutes of action.
The two-time NBA champion and one-time MVP already had 21 points in 8-of-8 shooting to his name at the half, including a 5-0 spurt in the last 36 seconds to widen the Americans' margin from four points to 58-49 at halftime.
LeBron James and Jrue Holiday then joined in on the fun early in the third period, merging for their own five unanswered points for a 63-49 US lead. They wouldn't look back, as their defense also stood strong in limiting reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic to 20 points in 8-of-15 shooting, eight assists, and five rebounds.
US avengers assembled
James wound up with 21 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds, as Holiday chipped in 15 markers and four boards for Team USA, which assembled its brightest stars for this Olympic campaign after a disappointing fourth-place finish in the FIBA Basketball World Cup co-hosted by the Philippines a year ago.
It wasn't just Durant scorching the nets, as in all, the Americans made mincemeat out of Serbia's defense for a 62 percent clip on field goals, including going 18-of-32 from three-point range.
On the other hand, Jokic's teammates were made to work for their points, with NBA players Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nikola Jovic merging for only 19 points in 7-of-20 shooting.
READ: South Sudan sends statement in Olympic debut with takedown of Puerto Rico
Up next for the US on August 1 is a highly-anticipated rematch with a South Sudan side fresh off a historic Olympic win. The Serbians, for their part, tussle with Puerto Rico on July 31, with both teams determined to get a bounce back win.
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