Krzyzewski finished his tenure as National Team head coach with an 88-1 record, including a flawless 24-0 mark in the Olympics. DeMarcus Collins was also impressive as he pulled down 15 rebounds.
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Serbia led 14-11 with 3:12 remaining in the first quarter when the Americans, who opened the game shooting only 5-of-17 from the floor, began what would become a 32-8 run to break open the contest.
A tearful Carmelo Anthony, who now owns three gold medals, told NBC afterward, “I committed to this [Team USA basketball] since ’04”. Durant scored 24 of his 30 points in the first half and led Team USA to a 52-29 lead heading into halftime.
Durant and Anthony hugged late in the fourth quarter with the result long decided.
Despite going into these games as the overwhelming favorites, Team USA wasn’t almost as dominant as their Olympic predecessors have been.
After Kevin Durant hit a 3-pointer early in the second quarter, he walked back down the court, pounding his fist on his chest and yelling at his U.S. teammates on the bench nearby.
There were close victories against Serbia, France and Australia in pool play. The Serbian women’s basketball team won bronze on Saturday.
In a rematch of a slim three-point win over Serbia in the group stages, the Americans were relentless in the final at Barra Carioca Arena to end their Rio campaign on the ultimate high on Sunday with a 96- 66 victory. Anthony, so often criticized for not winning National Basketball Association championships, became the model for US players.
Powering the USA men’s basketball team to the gold medal in Rio was cathartic for Kevin Durant. In their first Olympic appearance in men’s basketball as an independent nation, Serbia comes away with the silver.
But all that was forgotten as the Mike Krzyzewski-coached team completed the U.S. medal tally in Rio, its 46th gold to comfortably top the table from Great Britain.
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They were down just 16-15 before Durant made a 3-pointer for the final points of the first quarter, and before they knew it he had turned the game into a blowout.
