Photo reveals how $55m freak Kevin Durant ruined the Boomers

One image from the Boomers’ devastating loss to Team USA reveals how their Olympic dream was crushed by an incredible basketball superfreak.

Kevin Durant starts to celebrate during the Men's Basketball Semi Final between Australia and the USA. Picture: Adam Head

Australia was nearly perfect for all but a few minutes in the first half of their Olympic men’s basketball semi-final.

America, on the other hand, was all out of whack. It made just two of 13 three-point attempts and was harried on offence as the Aussies’ work without the ball put the US under pressure it couldn’t cope with.

The Boomers led by as many as 15 points midway through the second quarter yet when the siren sounded to end the half, that lead was cut to three. And it was all because of Kevin Durant.

Team USA’s captain and best player was unstoppable. Taking all the responsibility on himself, he single-handedly kept the Yanks in the contest. His 15 first half points were more than double the next best from the Americans and he only had his first rest when Gregg Popovich took the 32-year-old off against his will in the second quarter.

The man on a $55 million-a-year contract didn’t want to leave the floor, and you can’t blame him given the form he was in.

Durant did it on both ends. (Photo by Brian SNYDER / POOL / AFP)

An incredible block on an attempted Dante Exum dunk while running back at full speed in the first quarter – which was unfairly ruled a foul – showed the lengths Durant was willing to go to. Some spectacular fadeaway jump shots that hit nothing but net while his teammates threw bricks from long range only added to his aura.

A 16-4 run late in the second quarter helped the US reduce the deficit as Durant went into overdrive. He maintained the rage in the third quarter and this time he finally had some help as Team USA flicked a switch that changed the entire match and sealed Australia’s fate.

They piled on the pain in the final term and Durant was, surprise, the main man. The US went on a 20-0 run between the end of the third and start of the fourth quarters, the Brooklyn Nets megastar contributing 10 of those points to put the game — and the gold medal — out of Australia’s reach.

UNBELIEVABLE: Led by The Best Player on the Planet, Team USA just won the 3rd quarter by 22 points! Up 19 after 3 q. Thank you, Kevin Durant.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) August 5, 2021

Monstrous win for USA Basketball. And another statement game for perhaps the best USA Basketball player ever: Kevin Durant.

— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) August 5, 2021

Durant’s 15 first-half points became a game-high 23 by full-time as Popovich’s troops ran out 97-78 winners to progress to the final, while Australia can still secure its first ever Olympic medal when it plays off for bronze.

Adding to Durant’s statsheet were nine rebounds, two steals and two assists. As the photo below shows, the Boomers tried everything to stop the superfreak – including playing a little five-on-one – but even that couldn’t stop the best player on the planet.

pic.twitter.com/odPqRUuYKF

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) August 5, 2021

“He was really good. We all know who he is – he’s probably the best player in the world,” teammate Damian Lillard said. “A guy with that height, with that athleticism, who can shoot, who can handle – nobody can stop him.

“When the game gets like that and he gets going, our team should feel really comfortable.

“That’s what he does (takes over games). He’s the all-time leading scorer in USA basketball history. We don’t expect anything less.”

Stopping to chat to reporters before heading back to the locker room, Durant remained humble but Draymond Green cracked some laughs when he loped past with a big, goofy grin and yelled out “Let’s go Slim!”

Told he looked even more spectacular than usual, particularly as he led the fightback when his team needed it most, Durant played down his influence and spread the credit around.

“I guess probably because you were focusing on me a little bit too much,” Durant said when asked about his individual brilliance. “We had a lot of guys on this team that had straight faces and were ready to play when we were down 15. ‘Strong faces’ is what Pop said.

“We kept our composure, we knew that we could get back into the game pretty fast.

“We gotta give credit to Australia because they came out and hit us with a nice haymaker, but we were able to get back up and get that lead back.”

One more to go. Picture: Adam Head

Durant played more minutes than any player – from either side – and was scary good for the entirety of his half-hour on court. He received plenty of help on defence from Jrue Holiday, who Boomers coach Brian Goorjian singled out for thwarting his team’s second half push.

But undoubtedly, this is Durant’s world and everyone else is just living in it.