Kevin Durant scored 19 points, Klay Thompson added 17 and the U.S. basketball team rolled to a second straight blowout exhibition victory, with a 106-57 rout of China on Sunday night.
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Kevin Durant, the erstwhile Oklahoma City Thunder star who rocked the National Basketball Association with his recent decision to depart for rivals Golden State via free agency, came off the bench to lead the U.S. with 19 points.
They didn’t even realize it.
While Curry made a decision to skip the Olympics, Green and Thompson will be with Durant for the duration, building chemistry and togetherness as the second trio of National Basketball Association teammates to play Olympic hoops together since the National Basketball Association joined the Games in 1992.
“I didn’t really notice”.
“Nothing is for sure”, Durant said. “They’ve been outstanding. We have good talent and good athleticism”.
Providing a preview of what’s to come this season, Green immediately set a screen, freeing up Durant for a 3-pointer from the top of the key. The depth of the USA showed as coach Mike Krzyzewski rotated players in and out, searching for the right combinations on a team with 10 new players from 2012.
The highlight of the evening, however, belonged to Paul George.
The athletic center scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds, had two steals, three blocks and dazzled the packed crowd with a few highlight reel dunks Clippers fans have grown accustomed to over the years. But he still felt he had a hurdle to overcome.
“I think we’re learning more about one another, and our defense was there pretty much the whole game”, Krzyzewski said. “These are very good guys”.
The team had its first exhibition game during the lead-up to Rio 2016 against fourth-ranked Argentina, and the Americans were dominant, taking down their South American foes, 111-74.
Team Argentina was impressed with team USA’s performance. There were a lot of tipped balls that fell into USA hands and the US big men, DeMarcus Cousins and DeAndre Jordan, did a nice job staying active on the glass at both ends.
Team USA continued to dominate in the second quarter and went into halftime with a 55-29 lead.
On the other hand, Andres Nocioni led Argentina with 15 points and Manu Ginobili chipped in 11.
The other element, other than playing in a potentially unsafe country that’s struggled with multiple health crises of late, may be unfamiliarity with their opponents, unlike a seven-game NBA Finals series when it’s the same players playing against each other each night.
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“A lot of us are coming off different points in the season, finishing the season at different places, so these are definitely hard games for us”, said guard Kyrie Irving, whose season ended with a championship and a parade in Cleveland.
