Team USA Dominates Argentina, Heads To Quarterfinal Match

Kevin Durant was on fire from the 3-point line as Team USA rolled over Argentina with a final score of 126-97 on Monday night.

Durant scored 17 of his 28 points in the third quarter, helping send Team USA into the quarterfinals.

Two nights earlier, Team USA etched out a 99-94 victory over Lithuania and Argentina seemed ready for the same type of battle, shooting 56 percent in the first half of Monday nights game, leading Team USA 60-59 heading into the half.

After the match Durant said:

“I think we did a great job of responding from last game. It was a tough game and so was the first half tonight. Guys played together. That second half is how we want to play.”

During the third quarter, Durant’s personal 17 point score matched the entire Argentine team thanks to his 5-of-6 effort from 3-point range, the final hitting from beyond 25 feet. Durant finished the game with 8-for-10 shooting from behind the 3-point line.

Kevin Durant wasn’t the only big scorer as LeBron James added 18 points to the teams total and Chris Paul finished with 17 points.

Team USA (5-0) will now take on Australia (3-2) in Wednesday’s quarterfinal game.

James said after the game:

“We’re great shooting team, but in close games sometimes you’ve got to go down and get some easy ones, and I wanted the ball, whether it was layups or in the post. Once you get a couple easy ones at the rim, then the 3-pointers open up and you saw what KD was able to do.”

Team USA will take on the Australians in two days. During the Australia match LeBron James needs to score just six points (he currently has 225) to tie Charles Barkley for third place on the all-time Olympic career list.