Jayson Tatum takes his turn in the Olympic spotlight

Kevin Durant had just passed Carmelo Anthony for the most career points in USA Olympic men’s basketball history, but the Nets star saw something more in what had just taken place Saturday in the Americans’ easy 119-84 win over the Czech Republic on the final day of group play.

Durant ignited the U.S. following a slow first quarter by the team on the way to a 23-point performance. But Jayson Tatum stepped up as the finisher, scoring 21 of his 27 points in the second half.

He shot 10-for-16, 5-for-10 from downtown, and after two quiet games against France and Iran, stamped the Americans’ ticket into the Olympic knockout round.

So when an NBC reporter asked Durant after the game about becoming USA Basketball’s most prolific scorer, he thought of the player standing next to him.

“This guy to the left, I think he’s going to be the next guy to break that record,” he said of Tatum, who later added a little context to the tribute.

“I got a long way to go, but it’s a respect thing between myself and him,” said the Celtics star. “Obviously, the win was extremely important, with acknowledging the fact that it is a big accomplishment for him to be all-time leading scorer. And, you know, records are meant to be broken.”

Tatum’s play over the first two games, with nine points in the opener against France then 14 against Iran, generally reflected the slow-starting nature of the U.S. overall.

The Americans accelerated against the Czechs, with Tatum finding his flow in the third quarter. On a team this talented, it’s not a question of whether there will be flow, but simply when it will arrive.

“There’s a benefit to playing with other great players. It makes the game easier,” he said. “Everybody on the floor that has a really high IQ that can play the game at an extremely high level, it just makes the game easier for one another.

“I felt good. I knew that myself and the rest of the team, we just had to pick up the intensity a little bit. It was kind of close in the first half. And to get some more stops, we’d be able to get in transition, you know, get it out to guys and have guys make plays.”

It also seemed to be Tatum’s turn in the offensive rotation — for the ball to even come your way in one game this much is a blessing with the likes of Durant, Devin Booker, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton et al on the floor.

“It’s not hard. It takes some pressure off just knowing there’s guys to your left and right who are capable of doing things like that,” said Tatum. “We all knew when we signed up to come together that it wasn’t going to be our normal roles on our teams. But with the mindset that all that matters when we come together is to win a gold medal, it’s not gonna matter how many points you score or how many shots you’ve got. You came together in a short period of time and you sacrificed time from your family and your summer to accomplish something special.

“I think taking time out of your summer to come play on a team with some of the best players in the world, practice with them every day, compete on the floor, will only make you better. When you surround yourself with great players it only makes you better — elevates your game and helps you prepare for your next upcoming season.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3ifP6Wo