Kevin Durant led Team USA into the semifinals of the Olympic games with 29 points in a 95-81 win over Spain on Tuesday.
“Once we see that ball going to the rim, it put all of us at ease,” said Durant. “Our defense was a little better, a little tighter. We rebounded better after that, and guys just felt more comfortable shooting the basketball. So, we drove it to the rim at the end of that second (quarter) and were able to get our rhythm back a little bit. So, I like how we played in the second quarter. For the end of the second quarter all the way to finish the game, and that's how we are going to need to play going forward.”
Durant shot 10-for-17 overall and 4-for-7 from 3-point range and also had four assists.
Team USA trailed by 10 late in the second quarter before Durant led a 14-4 run into halftime that evened the game at 43. The roll continued at the start of the second half with Durant quickly making a pair of 3-pointers as Team USA opened the third quarter with a 22-6 run to take charge of the game.
The U.S. has won three straight games after dropping its Olympic opener to France and will play either Argentina or Australia in Thursday’s semifinals.
“We’re in a good spot right now,” said Durant. “Guys are starting to understand their roles and just get more comfortable within the team. In this setting, it’s always hard to get your footing as an individual player, because you don’t want to step on toes, you are coming in and out of the game, you’re not getting as many minutes getting them in the shot. So, I love how we stuck with it throughout this whole period of time and guys started to figure out what we needed to do.”