Durant leads USA to 86-85 exhibition win over Spaniards
Coach K and the U.S. National Team decided to take on an extremely tough exhibition schedule prior to beginning play in the World Championship in Turkey in September, and the decision paid off over the weekend in Madrid. The Spanish national team, the silver medalist at the 2008 Olympics and a favorite at this year’s World Championship, hosted the Americans in an exhibition game that added another exciting chapter to the growing USA/Spain basketball rivalry.
Team USA led for the entire game until Spain grabbed its first lead of the night at 82-80 with under two minutes to go. Facing tough game pressure and a hostile crowd, the Americans rose to the occasion. Kevin Durant scored two of his 25 points 17 seconds later and Derrick Rose gave the USA the lead again on a driving layup with 33 seconds left. Spain then jumped back on top with a bucket and a foul before Rose again took it hard to the rack and drew a foul. The speedy PG hit both free throws — saying the clutch shots were “something I’m never going to forget” — and Spain called timeout.
“We’ve practiced a lot with the zone and we used zone on all under out of bounds which were good. Then from the timeout Jim Boeheim said let’s go Orange,” said Coach K on the USA’s strategy in the timeout. “We call it Orange with respect for Jim, he said he doesn’t have any buildings named after him in Syracuse so we’ll name the zone after him. I agreed with him, but it was his suggestion and the guys did a good job with it.”
Spain had 17 seconds to run their offense, but the zone defense caused some confusion. Durant got a hand on a pair of three-point attempts, including one right before the buzzer, and the USA improved to 3-0 in exhibition games this summer with an 86-85 win.
“I just wanted to cover a much ground as I could and help my teammates out,” said Durant about the game’s last possession. “I saw Ricky Rubio open in the corner and I just wanted to use my length to get out there and tip the shot. I was able to get a finger on it and I had the ball and it kind of slipped out of my hand and Rubio got it back and threw it to Fernandez and I just didn’t want to jump and get a foul on a three-point shot so I stayed down and kind of timed it pretty well and I was fortunate enough to get a block and the game was over. I just wanted to do something to help my team win.”
The win was a major confidence builder and great learning experience for the USA team and also left the group more prepared to handle tight games decided in the final few possessions. After the contest, the Americans headed to Greece for more training and an exhibition game tomorrow against a tough and together Greek team.
Highlights — USA vs. Spain
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