Tuesday marked the first time Kevin Durant officially stepped foot on the Oracle Arena playing floor since making his switch from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Golden State Warriors. The Warrior fans made sure Durant would never forget this night, as they cheered for Durant even before the game started.
Durant was in town along with his Team USA teammates for the second exhibition game in a row versus China. Oakland fans were gathered around the tunnel which leads to the court from the locker rooms and started cheering for Durant with 86 minutes to go before the opening tip, according to NBA.com. They roared lustily when he came out of the tunnel for his traditional pre-game warm-up routine.
Before the opening tip, Warriors teammates Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Durant took center court, with Green getting the microphone and encouraging the fans to welcome Durant. The ovation for Durant lasted for around 15 seconds, according to ESPN.
Durant responded to the cheers positively with his performance on the playing floor. He quickly scored five straight points, first by hitting a three-pointer in the game's first possession, followed by a dunk. He then followed it up with another five points to score the first 10 points for his USA team. Durant finished the first half with 13 while leading Team USA to a very comfortable 52-24 lead. The game ended with a final score of 107-57 for the USA.
Green and Thompson were also cheered on by the Oakland fans, as well as Harrison Barnes, who was let go by the Warriors this offseason in order to sign Durant. Barnes is now with the Dallas Mavericks. In contrast, Los Angeles Clipper DeAndre Jordan was booed, owing to the rivalry between the Warriors and Clippers.
Durant said about his transition to the Warriors, "I'll just stick with what I know and how I do things." He also said that he believes his new team will accept him for who he is.
The United States team has two more exhibition games scheduled before that start of the Rio Olympics. They face Venezuela on Friday in Chicago and Nigeria on Monday in Houston. Below are the highlights of the second USA-China game.