“Obviously it was a U.S. game but to me it was more about him than anything”, Green said of Durant’s Oracle debut. Kevin Durant led the team scoring 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting while Klay Thomson added 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting. “The atmosphere was great”.
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Cleveland already has a talented, young point guard in Kyrie Irving and the best player in the National Basketball Association in LeBron James, so where do they go from here?
Kevin Durant’s finally home – His new home in the Bay Area that is. Playing in his first game in Oracle Arena since deciding to leave Oklahoma City, the crowd erupted on the first possession when Durant splashed one from deep.
When asked about being booed in pregame introductions, Durant responded that he had no idea it was happening and that he didn’t notice. “I mean we’re just getting to know each other”.
Fortunately, Durant claimed that he did not hear it and maintained his focus on the game.
“I didn’t lose sleep over today”.
“I talked to him about where he is going to live”, Curry told The Undefeated. “Luckily it went in”. Demarcus Cousins and Carmelo Anthony were the leading scorers of the night, with 21 points and 20 points respectively. According to * a href=”http://stats.nba.com/league/player/#!/playtype/roll-man/?CF=TeamNameAbbreviation*E*GSW&Season=2015-16&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&PerMode=Totals” *NBA.com, Festus Ezeli and Marreese Speights were the Warriors’ two most frequent roll men. He put on a little shooting show after the game.
Warriors assistant coach and former member of the Thunder staff Ron Adams was an early arrival to watch Durant’s warmup routine.
Insofar as you can glean anything from some of the least competitive basketball you’re ever likely to witness, Durant looked spry and confident. It’s the first opportunity since Kevin Durant signed with the Warriors, to see the small forward do it up big at Oracle Arena. He is ready to chase a championship with Curry and Co.
Klay Thompson and Draymond Green were also given warm receptions in front of their home crowd, but the Durant reaction was especially noteworthy. Makes sense considering there’s still a gold medal to win.
It will be the second straight Olympics the Americans have three teammates on the roster.
China and USA will meet for one more exhibition game in Oakland, California on Tuesday.
It seems as though defensive pressure will be calling card for the 2016 Men’s National team in Rio.
You can see the box score of Team USA’s victory versus China in its entirety here.
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A pretty good Warriors moment.
