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2024 Paris Olympics

‘Captain America’ a.k.a. Kevin Durant continues strong play for Team USA on record-breaking night

© Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant once again gave Team USA a big boost off the bench in a 122-87 blowout win over Brazil on what ended up being a historic night for himself.

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Durant overtook Lisa Leslie to become Team USA’s all-time leading Olympic scorer, male or female, in the third quarter. He now has 494 career Olympic points, surpassing Leslie’s 488 career points, after recording 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, four rebounds, three assists and a steal in 21 minutes against Brazil.

“That’s Captain America status,” Suns teammate Devin Booker said of Durant’s record postgame. “I feel like he has every record, every Olympic record. Now we have to get him his fourth gold, that’ll be the most as a men’s player also. He’s a hard-worker, now that we’re teammates, I get to see it behind the scenes and all he cares about is hoops. He loves it, 24/7 that’s all he does.”

All 12 players on the U.S. roster scored today to help USA advance to the semifinals, as Durant was part of the bench unit that included Anthony Edwards, Derrick White, Bam Adebayo, Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton.

Durant’s Record-Breaking Performance Recap

Durant checked into the game for the first time with 3:10 to go in the first quarter with the U.S. leading 27-14 led by nine early points by Booker. Durant was fouled on a jumper with 1:46 remaining in the quarter, scoring his first two points from the free-throw line. He next found Davis for a layup with 1:08 left to give Team USA a 31-17 lead.

Durant struggled overall to start, missing his first three shots and checked out with 5:30 left the first half with two points and the U.S. up 40-26. He subbed back in with 1:33 remaining, as the United States closed the second quarter on a 15-0 run to take a 63-36 halftime lead. Durant had two points (0-3 FG), three rebounds and an assist in nine minutes in the first half.

After subbing in with 5:41 to go in the third quarter, Durant made his first field goal of the game with 3:57 remaining in the quarter on a baseline jumper. This put him into only needing two points to surpass Leslie’s record. He got this quickly with a dunk with 3:06 left and made a jumper on the next possession. The U.S was up 94-71 going into the fourth and Durant had eight points on 3-of-7 shooting.

Durant found Edwards for a layup to open up the scoring in the fourth quarter. He scored his first points of the fourth on a technical free throw and then hit a jumper on the next possession. With five minutes to go, Durant intercepted a pass and threw a behind-the-back dime to Bam Adebayo for a slam in transition.

Durant subbed out with with 4:09 remaining and did not return.

Team USA will next take on Serbia for the third time on Thursday (Aug. 8) in the semifinals. The U.S. has already beaten Serbia twice in blowout fashion this summer, once in group play and once in an exhibition. Whoever wins this game will advance to the gold medal game, while the loser will play in the bronze medal game, both of which are on Aug. 10.

Kevin Durant makes Team USA history once again

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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau

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