LONDON -- Playing against an experienced and tough Argentina team, it was probably as good a third quarter as Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski could have imagined. And it was utterly necessary.The U.S. escaped the first half leading by just one point, and Krzyzewski told his team in the locker room that they needed to be more aggressive, that they had to tighten up on the defensive end and make things easier offensively. So, to open the third quarter, the U.S. came out with a pretty stiff jab to the Argentinean jaw in the form of LeBron James.
James started by moving directly into the post, scoring twice inside. On one shot he missed, Tyson Chandler got an offensive rebound, and James ended up scoring on a 3-pointer in the corner.Then came the roundhouse — Kevin Durant. After Team USA struggled against Lithuania on Saturday, Durant came out with some extra zing in his step, and when it came time to put this one away, Durant was all too happy to oblige.
“I just felt good,” Durant said. “Obviously, it was a game we wanted to win, and I just wanted to do whatever I needed to.”
By the end of the game, a 126-97 Team USA win, James had 18 points, shooting 7-for-12. Durant had 28, shooting 9-for-12 (including 8-for-10 from the 3-point line). But in that third quarter, the U.S. showed how this team’s offense will shape up as we head into the medal rounds and the U.S. gets into tight situations in must-win games. It’s going to be a 1-2 combo of James and Durant, and the gold medal will likely be up to them to win or lose.Ideally, future box scores for Team USA will look like the one from Monday’s game, with Durant and James taking the bulk of the shots. As Argentina point guard Facundo Campazzo said, “That is too hard to stop. You can stop one guy maybe. You can’t stop both of them like that, though.”To this point, both Durant and James have had to be coaxed into being top scorers for the Americans. Durant has been Team USA’s leading scorer, but his teammates have continuallypushed him for more.
“Anybody in their right mind, when he gets shooting like that, there is only one play—get the ball to him,” point guard Chris Paul said of Durant. “Luckily we have a great team that has the presence of mind to get it to him. KD is unbelievable. The way that he shoots the ball, he still finds a way to be unselfish. We have to yell at him to shoot the ball. As you see, when he shoots it, he usually makes it.”
Krzyzewski said what was different about Durant Monday night, though, was not only his offensive aggressiveness, but his defensive play, too.
“It’s not like Kevin hasn’t shot,” Krzyzewski said. “He has been one of our leading scorers. I really think two things helped Kevin today. One, I thought it was his best defensive game. ... I think he was lathered up. The second thing, I thought Chris and Deron (Williams) really pushed the ball well. And when they did, it flattened out the defense and we got some trailer 3s. I think those two things — we run some stuff for him, but he kept spacing, and those two things happened, and he played a terrific game. He played a terrific all-around game.”
James, similarly, had a big impact on the defensive end before going on his early third-quarter spree. His ability to pressure, play the passing lanes and run out on the fast break is one of Team USA’s top weapons — the kind of play that can not only net you two points, but can take some life out of the opposition to boot.
“Bron, man, he is special,” Paul said. “We came to the bench, and I heard coach yell at him, ‘Take the game over.’ He is a guy who is capable of doing that. A lot of times, (when) you think about guys taking the game over, you just think about scoring. But he’s a guy that can take the game over on the defensive end, he can share the ball, he got a big offensive rebound. He’s a freak of nature, he is seven, eight inches taller than me, weighs 50, 60 more pounds than me, but can do anything I can do with the ball. Almost.”
Before these Olympics started, the standard armchair debate was about whether the tournament would be dominated by James, the best player in the world, or Durant, right on his heels for that title.
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