First Quarter: USA 25, Russia 25

With 7 minutes left in the first quarter, Team USA holds a two point advantage.  Kevin Durant starts off strong with five or Team USA’s eight points.  Sasha Kaun (sorry Shooter and all other Kansas fans) might be the worst center in the FIBA championships.  He already has missed two wide open lay-ups.

6:30 left in the first. Sergey Bykov hits his second three of the half giving Russia a 9-8 lead.  Team USA battles right back with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook drawing fouls.  A wide open 3 point shot off of good ball movement by Chauncey Billups gives team USA a 15-9 lead.

1:42 left in the first. Russia is  battling back.  Knicks fans must be giddy with excitement as Timofey Mozgov is banging inside with 7 points off the bench.  Mozgov and Evgeny Voronov have been strong off the bench giving Russia a 23-20 lead.  Team USA’s youth is showing as they are showing some frustration because of Russia’s size.

The first period buzzer sounds and the score is tied at 25 a piece.  Durant is already taking over scoring 13 points.  Mozgov leads Russia with 9 points.

2nd Quarter:  USA 44, Russia 39

Stephen Curry is getting killed off the dribble as Russia starts off the second quarter scoring the first four points.  Russia is mixing up man and zone, but packing both defenses in the paint.  Team USA has been caught playing a lot of 1-on-1 basketball so far.

7:00 left in the half. Kevin Durant is a man on a mission and continues to attack the rim every chance he gets.  His two free throws puts Team USA down 29-28.  Andre Iguodala put back dunk on a Derrick Rose missed layup helps Team USA keep up with Russia.  Sasha Kaun misses another lay-up putting his count up to four.

4:48. Bykov slices in for another wide open lay-up giving him 10 points and giving Russia it’s biggest lead of the game at 35-30.  A lay-up by Russell Westbrook and a three by Eric Gordon ties the game back up at 35 apiece.

2:20. In traffic and with a hand in a face Kevin Durant his a fading floater in the paint.  I cannot wait for the Olympics when Durant joins Kobe Byant, Dwayne Wade, and LeBron James.  If they can all play on the court together can you imagine the pure epic awesomeness that will occur?  I can’t.

1:08. A beautiful pass by Eric Gordon finding Andre Iguodala for the basket giving Team USA a 42-35 lead.  Sasha Kaun finally makes a lay-up at the buzzer closing the half.  Team USA 44, Russia 39.  Kevin Durant leads all scorers with 19 points on 6-11 from the field.

3rd Quarter: USA 70, Russia 56

Durant starts the second half where he left off driving to the basket for two.  Russia is starting two of their younger players, Timofey Mozgov and Dimitriy Khvostov, who came off the bench in the first half.  Khvostov shows his worth by hitting a three early.  Mr. Big Shot shows why is he on the squad by calmly hitting two threes and giving Team USA a 53-47 lead.

5:19. Derrick Rose went up for a monster slam and it looked like Timofey Mozgov had a clean block.  Mosgov was called for his is 4th foul, meaning he will be sitting for a while.  Mozgov has been the only center effective against Team USA.  If Sasha Kaun has to play the rest of the way, Russia is trouble.

4:21. Billups penetrates Russia’s zone for an easy two followed up by a Russell Wesbrook steal and slam.  Team USA is pumped and pull out front 58-47.  Russell Westbrook is going off!  After knocking down a 3 he picks off another pass and slams it down with more authority then his previous one.  Speaking of playing well, Lamar Odom has been quietly having a good game.  Odom only has 4 points and 6 rebounds, but his hustle and ability to play center for Team USA has been a huge plus in this game.

Tyson Chandler’s putback at the end of the quarter gives Team USA a 70-56 lead.  They are firing on all cylinders and are staying disciplined on defense forcing tough shots for Russia.

4th Quarter: USA 89, Russia 79

Russell Westbrook is making the most of his extended minutes tonight as he takes a nice pass by Rudy Gay to convert a lay up plus the foul.

8:05. Durant hits another three pointer and then drives for a tough lay up giving him 28 points for the game.  My Kevin Durant USA jersey is in the mail.

5:01. Another empty possession by Team USA, they are starting to get sloppy.  Odom and Billups get Team USA back on track.  After a nice defensive play by Russia, Mr. Big Shot hits another three pushing the lead to 84-68.

3:00. Two easy dunks by Russia after defensive lapses causes Coach K to use a timeout and puts Russia within 12 points.  I would like to see Team USA finish this game strong.  After the timeout Kevin Durant hits a 12 footer giving him 30 points for the game.  Honestly, my boy Kevin Durant cannot be stopped.  Taking the top guard in Russia’s zone off the dribble for a spin, floater, foul, and the basket.

Recap: The buzzer sounds and Team USA holds on to win 89-79 over Russia.  Kevin Durant led all scorers with 33 points.  He did his thing tonight and also grabbed 5 rebounds and blocked two big shots.  When Team USA was struggling, KD came through in the clutch, carrying his team on his back.  Chauncey Billups showed his leadership and kept this team calm while he hit 4 three pointers in the process.  After a rough first half, where a few missed steal attempts left Team USA playing four on five, Russell Westbrook bounced back with a huge second half.  He finished with 12 points and recorded three steals in the third which helped Team USA pull away.  Lamar Odom finished with 12 rebounds, but his play that you will not notice on the stat sheet is what stuck out to me.

Russia fought hard and was led by Sergey Bykov and his 17 points.  Timofey Mozgov played well for Russia, but was not able to stay out of foul trouble.  Team USA moves on to play the winner of Argentina and Lithuania.

-JB