On July 28, the men’s basketball group stage of the Paris Olympics continued, featuring a match between Team USA and Serbia.
In this game, Durant made his return from injury but did not start. He came off the bench with 2 minutes and 33 seconds left in the first quarter. Upon entering, Durant seized the opportunity from beyond the arc, demonstrating excellent form, and then hit another three-pointer, helping Team USA to take the lead by the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Durant kept up his scorching touch, nailing consecutive three-pointers from outside, as well as mid-range shots—there was no stopping him. Indeed, he proved to be a lethal scorer on the international stage. With 2 minutes and 43 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Durant re-entered the game and promptly sank a fadeaway jumper, followed by a trailing three-pointer, and capped off the half with a buzzer-beating mid-range shot, maintaining a perfect shooting percentage.
In the first half, coming off the bench for 8 minutes, he went 8-for-8 from the field, including 5-for-5 from three-point range, scoring a team-high 21 points with a +15 plus-minus rating.