Mission Accomplished: Durant Fuels Team USA to First World Championship Since 94
Even though only three Americans scored more than eight points, Kevin Durant continued his impressive run, scoring 28 points en route to a World Championship for Team USA.
Four U.S. players did not score in the game, and three others had less than five points, but they played together as a team and played spectacular defense against Turkey. Lamar Odom finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Russell Westbrook ended up with 13 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
Durant set a record along the way for most points in the tournament by a U.S. player. He left the court with 42 seconds left and shared a long hug with coach Mike Krzyzewski, who finally won the world title after his previous two attempts ended with bronze medals.
Everyone said they were too young. They said they were undersized. They said the United States couldn't get it done without LeBron, Kobe, Wade, Carmelo, and CP3.
But Team USA proved them all wrong, capping an undefeated summer with a gold medal victory at the FIBA World Championships on Sunday.
With a team composed of six players under the age of 22, the U.S. exceeded all expectations in Istanbul and cruised to a 17-point victory on Sunday.
Durant, who had seven three-pointers on Sunday, was the tournament's undeniable MVP. His performance all tourney long—particularly over the last three games—made fans wonder if Team USA really was playing without the best player in the world after all.
Turkey battled hard the first two periods, keeping the game close and even holding a lead in the first quarter. But the hometown heroes eventually couldn't keep up with the United States' athleticism and turned the ball over too often on offense and gave up too many easy baskets on defense. Hedo Turkoglu finished with 16 points for Turkey.
With the victory, the U.S. clinches an automatic bid to the 2012 Olympics, a huge sigh of relief for the USA Basketball program. Mike Krzyzewski becomes the first U.S. coach in history to win an Olympic and FIBA gold medal in his career and Lamar Odom is now the only player in history to win an NBA title and a FIBA title in the same calendar year.
The "B team" has won a Gold Medal, something that hasn't been done by a USA team in 16 years. Now take Durant and a couple others, and add them to a roster with Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Carmelo, Dwight Howard, CP3 and Deron Williams. This should be fun.
Well done guys, well done.
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