Durant Explodes for 38 in U.S. Semifinal Victory

Kevin Durant looked like his old Thunder self in an 89-74 victory over Lithuania.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:56 am

By: News On 6

Durant Explodes for 38 in U.S. Semifinal Victory

Originally Published: Sep 11, 2010 4:51 PM CDT

Grant Belcher
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

ISTANBUL – Kevin Durant has come a long way in just a couple of weeks.

While he took the reins of the Thunder and led the NBA in scoring last year, his teammates and coaches on Team USA called him far too passive.

But since then, Durant has learned to take his instincts from Oklahoma City and use them to become by far the best player in the FIBA World Championship.

After putting up few shot attempts in exhibitions and early rounds, Durant broke loose in an 89-74 Team USA victory over Lithuania on Saturday.

He went 14-of-26 to score a U.S.-record 38 points and also grabbed nine rebounds in the game. Durant’s 38 topped Carmelo Anthony’s single-game record of 35. His current average is 22.1 per game, which would set a record for the highest average by a U.S. player in international play.

Durant’s scoring is nothing new to fellow USA and Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook.

"I've seen him score 45, 35, back-to-back," Westbrook said. "It doesn't surprise me at all what he's been doing."

Westbrook has been no slouch, either. He put up 12 points and eight rebounds against Lithuania to give Thunder players more than half of Team USA’s total points.

Laker forward Lamar Odom added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Team USA.

After resting about half of each game in the earlier rounds, Durant has looked fresh and ready to go as the competition has increased.

He won't have much time to rest, however, before the U.S. plays for the World Championship on Sunday against Turkey.

Turkey will have a distinct home-court advantage on Sunday with the game taking place in Istanbul.

It squeaked out an 83-82 win over Serbia in the semifinals on Saturday. Thunder center Nenad Krstic had 15 points and seven rebounds in the loss.