Fans are still buzzing about Kevin Durant's perfect half against Serbia

No one could have expected the masterful performance Kevin Durant put forth against Serbia, which helped the United States take command of the game.

Durant finished with 23 points on 8-9 shooting from the field in just 17 minutes against Serbia. He tantalized the crowd in Lille and viewers at home with an array of shots, as he scored 21 of his 23 points in the first half, while making all eight of his shots in the process. Basketball fans were in awe of his flawless first half.

Expectations for Durant weren’t all that high heading into the game, as he had been nursing a leg injury that didn’t allow him to play much heading into the Olympics. He told NBC Sports after the game, “The leg felt great. I’ve been itching to get out on the floor. It’s a great first start for us.”

United States head coach Steve Kerr said to AZ Central “I obviously coached Kevin for three years and maybe more than any player I’ve ever been around, when he comes back from a long absence, you don’t notice it.”

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Kerr also said “He’s so skilled and he just looked like he was in mid-season form after not playing in a real basketball game for a couple of months. Pretty incredible.”

LeBron James told NBC in a postgame interview, “To have KD on our side, to have KD on my side, it’s a treat for sure.”

Dwyane Wade was on NBC’s coverage of the game as a color commentator, and was thoroughly impressed by what Durant was able to pull off. “Kevin Durant is incredible. Do you understand what we just witnessed? Incredible.”

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Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is on Kerr’s staff for the 2024 Olympics, and was equally taken aback as Wade. “He’s one of the best to do it,” he told Sports Illustrated. “But I’ll tell you what, not many people can do that coming off an extended period of time and make it look that easy.”

Manu Ginobili knows a thing or two about stepping up in the Olympics, and took to social media to give his thoughts on the amazing display. The former Argentinian and San Antonio Spurs star wrote, “KD should be illegal!!”

Former NBA player Wilson Chandler posted, “you can’t deny KD’s greatness. You’re just a hater if you try to.”

Serbia also had to tip their cap to Durant as he poured in basket after basket. Vanja Marinkovic told Mozzart Sport, “We played well in the first half, but Durant made the difference along with our turnovers.”

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