Tokyo Olympics: Kevin Durant becomes the top Olympic scorer in USA men's basketball history as they advances to the quaterfinals defeating Czech Republic

Tokyo Olympics: Kevin Durant becomes the top Olympic scorer in USA men’s basketball history as they advances to the quaterfinals defeating Czech Republic

Kevin Durant becomes the top Olympic scorer in Men’s Basketball Team USA history leaving Carmelo Anthony behind with 339* (354) points in his career as his nation progressed to the quarterfinals round defeating the Czech Republic 119-84. Jayson Tatum (27) and Durant (23) to compel their side for a must-win match on Saturday.

By Rizu Shukla Published on July 31, 2021, 20:10 IST Last updated July 31, 2021, 20:54 IST

Team USA has reached the quarterfinals round after their victory over the Czech Republic 119-84 on Saturday’s Men’s Basketball event at the Tokyo Olympics as Group A faced off at the Saitama Super Arena.

THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT. 🗣 @usabasketball gets the win to advance. #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/pFyvZG2FBj

— Team USA (@TeamUSA) July 31, 2021

Jayson Tatum with the game-high 27 points along with Kevin Durant’s 23 points empowered the Americans in their do-or-die fixture to go ahead into the next round of the competition.

Team USA dominated over the opponent and outscored them in the second half with 72-41. Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant provided 23 points with 9 rebounds to collect 354 points in his Olympic career.

With the points today, KD made the record of top Olympic scorer in the USA men’s basketball history leaving behind Carmelo Anthony who made 336 points in his four Olympics. Lakers’ LeBron James (273), David Robinson (270) and Michael Jordan (256) enlist the USA’s top five.

NEW RECORD HOLDER!

Kevin Durant passes Carmelo Anthony for the most points scored by a @TeamUSA men's basketball player in the Olympics.#TokyoOlympics x @usabasketball pic.twitter.com/r4PjglY3Zs

— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) July 31, 2021

Blake Schilb gave 17 points for the Czech Republic but that was not enough to outscore the opponents who managed to keep their medal hopes alive at the Tokyo Games.

Durant, who is playing for the third time in the Games made a 3-pointer heading into the second quarter to expand his points and surpass Anthony. He only needed six points to make this record at 331 coming from the previous match.

Kevin Durant pulls up from deep to become the U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball Team’s all-time leading scorer! #USABMNT #Tokyo2020 #Basketball

🎥: @NBCOlympics pic.twitter.com/gISymaseHQ

— NBA (@NBA) July 31, 2021

KD was the dominant scorer for the Americans in 2012 as well as 2016. He scored 30 points in both the gold-medal games.

The top scorer in Olympic history is recorded by Oscar Schmidt of Brazil who made 1,093 points followed by Andrew Gaze at second from Australia who registered 789 in five Olympic appearances for both.