Team USA overwhelms China in third exhibition game behind big nights from Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and DeMarcus Cousins
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The script couldn’t have been written any better.
The first part of it was actually penned on Monday, as Team USA arrived in Oakland for its third showcase game.
DeMarcus Cousins won the tip and Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving immediately tossed the ball to Kevin Durant. The newest member of the Golden State Warriors lined up a 3-pointer and buried it, scoring his first points inside his new home — Oracle Arena — since announcing his decision to join the Warriors this summer.
“Yeah, I knew yesterday I was shooting that one,” Durant told NBA TV following Team USA’s 107-57 rout against China, the third straight blowout during the five-game Olympic tuneup.
Durant scored the next two buckets as well — both dunks.
In all, the player fans showered with the loudest cheers prior to tipoff scored the first 10 points. China was helpless to slow him down. It was Irving who first crashed Durant’s party, ending Durant’s personal scoring binge when Irving leaked out for a layup and scored the first points from a player other than Durant.
That was Irving’s only basket during a quiet night. He finished with two points on 1-of-6 shooting in his return to Oracle, the site where he helped the Cavaliers win the 2016 NBA championship.
But Tuesday was about Durant — at least in the first half. The second belonged to Carmelo Anthony, DeMarcus Cousins and Klay Thompson.
“It was amazing,” Durant said after scoring 13 points in 19 minutes. “They came out and supported us. Was a great basketball atmosphere.”
Anthony, the team’s elder statesman scored 16 of his 20 points during a scintillating third quarter. Cousins recorded his second double-double, finishing with a game-high 21 points while pounding China on the glass, as he collected 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive end.
Thompson put an exclamation point on Team USA’s 50-point blowout, hitting five of his final seven shots, including a long-distance pull-up triple that brought Stephen Curry, who was sitting courtside next to Andre Iguodala, to his feet.
Thompson finished with 15 points to go with a team-high five assists.
China played without Yi Jianlian, the team’s leading scorer on Sunday, because of passport issues. Still, his presence wouldn’t have made much of a difference.
For the second straight game, the Americans’ first Olympic opponent looked overwhelmed, struggling to keep up with the athletic and versatile U.S squad.
The talent gap was visible early, as Team USA led by 16 after the first quarter. It became even more evident in the fourth quarter when swingman DeMar DeRozan attempted a 360 dunk over a defender in transition. DeRozan couldn’t complete the play, as he was fouled.
The exciting miss led to a Durant technical foul, as he jumped off the bench and onto the court. Even LeBron James took notice.
Man if @DeMar_DeRozan would have made that dunk, would have been top 5 All Time! #USABMNT
— LeBron James (@KingJames) July 27, 2016
Team USA heads to Chicago next. It will play Venezuela on Friday night.
Team USA overwhelms China in third exhibition game behind big nights from Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and DeMarcus Cousins
Post a Comment