PARIS, France — There were mild concerns that he wouldn't even play after dealing with a calf injury leading up to the Paris Olympics, but Kevin Durant made quite the imprint on Team USA's first game Sunday morning.
Durant, who was once drafted by the Seattle Supersonics in 2007, poured in 21 first-half points en route to a 110-84 win over Serbia. He was the game's leading scorer with 23 despite coming off the bench for the United States.
A calf strain kept Durant from playing in all five of the team's exhibition games prior to the Paris Olympics. Team USA announced about an hour before Sunday's game that Durant would come off the bench in the Olympic opener.
Fellow four-time Olympian LeBron James also filled up the stat sheet, scoring 21 points, grabbing 8 rebounds and dishing out 9 assists in the win.
Durant isn't the only local connection who was part of Sunday's game. Gonzaga head coach Mark Few is a Team USA assistant, and former Bulldog Filip Petrusev was a starter for Serbia and finished with four points and five rebounds.
