Team USA finally put together a complete defensive and offensive performance to retain the Gold medal Sunday in Rio. Led by Kevin Durant's 30 points and a complete team defensive effort, the Americans dismantled a hot Serbian team. The sharp shooting Serbs were coming off wins against Group B winners, and border rivals, Croatia in the quarterfinals and a 26 point thrashing of a very good Australian team in the semifinals. Their efficient offense and distance shooting gave the US defense fits in their group stage meeting, which the Americans squeaked out by 3. 

The Americans, on the other hand, came into the gold medal game undefeated and clear favorites, but had failed to put together the type of dominating performance that fans have grown accustom to seeing. They finished off their group stage games by defeating Australia, Serbia, and France by a combined 16 points and looked sloppy defending the perimeter. Even though they averaged just under 105 points per game, their offensive narrative had been defined by too much individual play, relying on one-on-one's and settling for jumpers rather than fluid ball movement like their international counterparts. However, coach K rallied his troops and, fueled by their lock-down defensive effort, the American offense was cohesive, shooting 44.2% from the field and grabbing 20 offensive boards. It didn't hurt that Kevin Durant got hot early as he sparked the 2nd quarter run which saw the American lead balloon to an ultimately insurmountable 23 points at halftime. The US kept their foot on the gas in the third quarter, outscoring Serbia 27-14. Team USA cruised through the 4th quarter, growing their lead to 46 points and emptying their bench midway through the final stanza.

A thirty point win for the Gold medal was a nice sending off present for Coach K, who has now retired as coach of the national team. But I'm sure coach K was happier with his team's complete, all around, performance than the margin of victory. After relying on frustrating individual play for most of the tournament, the United States showed the world just how lethal they can be when they play 40 minutes of unselfish offense rather than rely on their talent alone.