United States decimate Dominican Republic in an exhibition game - NBA Update
Kevin Durant’s talent is not bound to a position.
On Thursday night he came off the bench for 24 points to go with 10 rebounds and became the impetus behind America’s 113-59 victory over Dominican Republic in an exhibition match.
KD played for 22 minutes and shot 9-for-11 from the field including a mind boggling 5-for-6 effort from the land of three.
"It felt good to me," Durant said. "It was cool to come off the bench for the first time. Wherever they need that spark, I'm going to try to come out and give them that spark. So I was looking forward to having different roles
playing with USA, so it was kind of fun for me, actually."
Carmelo Anthony started the game with LeBron James and Durant replaced Tyson Chandler later on. With players like Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Derrick Rose missing the mega event due to injuries, it was feared that
U.S. will suffer due to lack of size. But Mike’s plan to use effective rotation helped U.S. to overcome the lack of size.
On Thursday night the U.S. squad received another blow in the form Blake Griffin’s knee injury. The Los Angeles Clippers forward will require a surgery to repair a torn cartilage in his left knee and Anthony Davis filled the spot.
Andre Iguodala netted 18 points and Davis added 13 points in America’s victory.
Coach Krzyzewski was satisfied with the game plan.
“The way we're playing is exactly the way we should play, I think, with this group of athletes and with the depth that we have," Krzyzewski said, adding that Durant would remain a reserve for at least the next game. "We have good
depth, especially on the perimeter."
During the game Kobe Bryant and LeBron both played for less than 20 minutes and combined for 11 points. Kobe had four out of them with 2 rebounds and 1 assist.
The Dominicans has Atlanta Hawks centre Al-Horford and a veteran in Francisco Garcia, but both of them failed to make any sort of impact. Al Horford managed a 1 of 12 shooting for just 7 points while Francisco Garcia failed to
trouble the scorers.
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