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Prior to making his triumphant return to the court on Sunday, Team USA star Kevin Durant wondered if his calf strain would force him to miss the Paris Olympics.
“When you’re going through a rehab, especially when you want it to happen pretty quickly. You’ve got a short amount of time together. There were days I had good days and then I had a little setback here and there. I was nervous a little bit,” Durant admitted after Sunday’s game against Serbia, per Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic.
Those nerves quickly vanished when Durant was inserted into Team USA’s Group C opener, as he poured in 23 points on 8-of-9 shooting to spearhead a dominant 110-84 victory over Serbia. He appeared to be in vintage form from the moment he came off the bench, as 21 of his points came in the first half.
Bleacher Report @BleacherReport
TEAM USA BLOWS OUT SERBIA 110-84 🔥
Bron: 21 PTS, 8 REB, 9 AST
KD: 23 PTS, 8-9 FG, 5-5 3PTUSA rematch vs. South Sudan on Wednesday đź‘€ pic.twitter.com/Uf6Qrg7lFP
Durant had missed all five games of Team USA’s exhibition run while he recovered from the calf injury, but he didn’t allow that to affect his mindset.
“I’ve been playing ball my whole life,” he said. “So it’s just simplified and bring it back to it’s just basketball at the end of the day. So I just tried to follow the game plan, be there for my teammates on the defensive end when the ball touch my hands, be aggressive.”
Durant and Team USA will be in action on Wednesday in a group-play matchup against South Sudan, which gave the team trouble in an exhibition game that came down to the wire. The addition of the 35-year-old to the lineup could lead to a more convincing win for Team USA this time around.
