Durant leads U.S. past Spain to advance to Olympic semis

Team United States forward Kevin Durant Kareem Elgazzar-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Durant leads U.S. past Spain to advance to Olympic semifinals

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 8/3/21

NBA superstar Kevin Durant tallied 29 points in 31 minutes on Tuesday as Team USA overcame an early deficit to defeat Spain 95-81 and advance to the Olympic semifinals.

The victory marks the fifth straight Summer Olympics in which the Red, White and Blue has knocked Spain out of the international competition.

With 95-81 win, USA men's basketball has now ended Spain's gold medal hopes in the past five Olympics.
- 2020 quarterfinals
- 2016 semifinals
- 2012 finals
- 2008 finals
- 2004 quarterfinals
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) August 3, 2021

Despite setting the standard for scoring in Olympic men's basketball, Durant gave credit to the entire team for overcoming some early issues.

"We're in a good spot right now," he said, via ESPN. "Guys are starting to understand their roles and just getting comfortable within the team. In this setting, it's always hard to get your footing as an individual player. You don't want to step on toes."

Teammates Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Zach LaVine and Jayson Tatum also scored double digits as the team collectively shot 48 percent from the field.

Team USA will face Australia in the semis on Thursday.

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