LILLE, France – Three-time Olympic gold medalist Kevin Durant was instrumental yet again in delivering a dominant opening performance at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. While the U.S. men’s basketball team started slow overall, Durant, alongside two-time Olympic gold medalist LeBron James, led the charge to find their groove to defeat Team Serbia, 110-84.

Durant, 35, shutdown all doubts of his post-injury abilities after finishing with a game-high 23 points coming off the bench – 21 of those points being dropped from 8-of-8 shooting (5-of-5 beyond the arc) in the first half. He finished 8-of-9 overall in 17 minutes of playing following a missed jumper to the exclamation of the 27,000 fans within the Pierre Mauroy Stadium.

“Oh man, it felt great leaving my hands,” Durant laughed after nearly shooting 9-of-9. “I definitely wanted to finish the game perfect.”

Due to a left calf strain sustained in late April, Team USA’s all-time leading scorer hasn’t played since the Phoenix Suns’ first-round exit during the NBA playoffs. Durant also missed the entire USA Basketball Showcase, a series of five exhibition matches, in the lead up to Paris. The U.S. went undefeated in five games, picking up wins against Canada, Australia, Serbia, South Sudan and Germany.

The 6-foot-11 superstar noted he had been practicing with the team since Wednesday, and U.S. head coach Steve Kerr said he’d be ready for the game and not put on a minute restriction.

“Right after I scrimmaged, I felt good,” Durant said regarding his calf injury. “(I was in) no pain. I was able to get up the next day and had a better routine so I knew I’d be able to play (tonight).”

Durant would come off of the bench upon his long-awaited return, while Jrue Holiday, Stephen Curry, Devin Booker, James and Joel Embiid would start for Team USA going into the game.

Serbia capitalized early after tipoff, finding themselves with a 10-2 lead due to multiple turnovers from the Americans. Following a U.S. head coach Steve Kerr timeout, the team found their groove to maintain a nine-point lead going into the half (58-49).

Kerr commended Serbia’s strong start but noted gratitude to Durant and the second wave of players for starting the momentum needed to complete the comeback.

“It was a tough start,” Kerr responded to the poor start. “We were turning the ball over. I thought Serbia played really well first quarter. And so Kevin (Durant) coming in (and) the whole second group … kind of got the game back in our favor. And we were able to build on that from there.”

LeBron James shoots the ball during the men’s group match against Team Serbia at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on July 28, 2024 in Lille, France. (Photo by Getty Images)

James, 39, who scored 21 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, also noted the team’s ability to deal with a difficult Serbian team in the first quarter.

“This is the best game we played so far,” James said regarding the Olympic opener. “I thought it tested us early. We kind of lost our composure. When the second group came in, it was a big lift. KD was phenomenal. It’s almost like he never missed a beat or a practice, or anything.

“But at the end of the day, I’m not surprised. I mean, he’s just all this world talent. Like I said, in practices, he just goes just as hard as he does in the game.”

Team USA was able to hold onto its lead until the final whistle, outscoring the Serbians, 52-35, in the second half. Curry, 36, who was making his Olympic debut, ended the game in its dying seconds with his third 3-pointer of the game to earn himself 11 points on the night.

When asked about Curry’s debut, Kerr had nothing but praise for the four-time NBA winner.

“The beauty of Steph is that whether he makes shots or not, he impacts the game,” Kerr said. “It could be because he scares the other team and just the threat of Steph impacts the game. This is such a unique tournament; it’s six games. And we have the best players in America on our team and every game is going to be a little different.”

Curry, Durant and James were three of seven U.S. players to score double digits. Holiday (15), Booker (12) and Anthony Edwards (11) also padded the stat sheet. Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic spearheaded Serbia with 20 points, five rebounds and eight assists.

The U.S. men’s national team competes next against FIBA-ranked No. 33 South Sudan in their second-of-three group stage games on July 31 at 3 p.m. ET. The Sudanese surprisingly defeated No. 16 Puerto Rico, 90-79, earlier today putting them 1-0 in Group C, as well.