Durant’s monster second quarter ended any notion of an upset for Serbia and put the USA on the gold-medal stand for the third consecutive Olympics with a 96-66 victory over the Serbians, who surprised in Rio by taking the silver. It was a 23-point game at the half and the USA led by as many as 41 in the fourth. U.S. defeated Serbia 94-91 in a pool play game on August 12.
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It was by now an exhibition, underlined by DeMar DeRozan’s breath-taking alley-oop, as the United States’ men won a 15th basketball gold.
Serbia, which missed the 2008 and 2012 Games, never found their rhythem of typical team work as the game was more like an National Basketball Association one. If he does play, he could tie Carmelo Anthony, who won his third gold this summer, becoming the first to achieve this feat. “I’ve seen the worst of it”, referring to the team’s humiliating bronze medal finish in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Krzyzewski, the Duke legend who was hired by program head Jerry Colangelo in 2005, is now officially retired from the national team and will make way for the San Antonio Spurs’ Gregg Popovich in 2020.
Kevin Durant was the leading scorer for the USA with 30 points, while Nemanja Nedovic led Serbia with 14 points.
The 2016 class under coach Mike Krzyewski may not have had quite the flair of past teams but overcame some testing group games with narrow wins over Australia, France and Serbia for another gold.
Durant was in good company with new Warriors teammates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, so it may have been a good thing that Russell Westbrook and the rest of the Thunder stayed home. All 12 USA players scored in the game. “I’m here today three gold medals later”. It was a terrific Olympic games for them, and will look to evolve the sport even more in their country. Butler contributed 14 minutes off the bench for the Americans, finishing with two points, five rebounds (four on the offensive end), an assist, and a block. The total ties the record for most points by a player in the gold medal game, which he shares with Adrian Dantley.
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The United States saved some of their best for last to continue their reign atop men’s basketball with a third straight Olympic gold in the final event of the Games.
