Durant Carries USA to World Championship Gold
Sean Deveney - SportingNews.com
Sep 13, 2010
On Saturday, as Kevin Durant was posting 38 points to lead Team USA past Lithuania and into the gold medal game at the FIBA World Championship in Turkey, coach Mike Krzyzewski pointed out that Durant's teammates had a message for him throughout that game: "Keep shooting, keep shooting," Krzyzewski said Durant was told.
Durant, apparently, held onto that message into the final in a raucous game against Turkey, the tournament's home team. Durant was nearly unstoppable throughout the game, facing a variety of defenders and schemes to no avail -- he finished with 28 points on 10-for-17 shooting, leading Team USA to an 81-64 win and the gold medal.
In the process, USA Basketball washed away the last vestige of disappointment that had hung around the program for the early part of the decade. The so-called "Redeem Team" won the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics, but the U.S. had a disastrous recent track record in World Championship play. Team USA had not won gold at the World Championship since 1994, and finished an embarrassing sixth in at the '02 tournament in Indianapolis. Even the '06 team that featured stars like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony could only win the bronze.
That all changed thanks to Durant, who had one of the best single-tournament individual performances in Team USA history. He set the U.S. record for points scored in a World Championship (205) and scoring average (22.8). For a team lacking the overwhelming talent that the '08 Olympians possessed, Durant's performance was a necessity.
"Our only option was to come out here and get a gold and it feels really good to bring this back home to the States," Durant said after the game.
In the gold medal game, Durant was hot from the beginning. He scored eight points in the first three minutes, knocking down two 3-pointers and making a jumper. When Turkey took a brief 17-14 lead in the first quarter, Durant responded with an NBA-length 3-pointer from straight on to tie the game, and Turkey never led again.
It was more of the same from Durant in the second quarter, as he took a skittish USA offense that was having trouble with Turkey's tough zone defense and carried it. The U.S., unable to effectively get inside against the long-armed Turkish big men, was forced to heave up an inordinate number of 3-pointers. Team USA had been averaging 25.8 3s per game in the tournament, but in the gold medal game, they took 22 in the first half. Durant was 5-for-9 from the arc. The rest of the team was 1-for-13.
Durant's offensive brilliance was coupled with solid defense by Team USA. They forced 10 turnovers (Turkey averaged just 11 turnovers coming into the game) in the first half, and allowed Turkey to shoot just 34.6 percent from the field as the U.S. held a 42-32 lead.
But it was in the third quarter that the U.S. -- led, naturally, by Durant -- began to seal the game. Durant started the quarter by knocking down two 3-pointers, the second coming on a behind-the-back dribble that he finished with a step-back shot. That pushed the Team USA lead to 16 points, and though Turkey made several runs, the Americans were able to maintain a double-digit lead.
After that 3-pointer, the normally reserved Durant flashed three fingers to the crowd. It was a rare bit of showmanship, but unquestionably well-earned.
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