Krstic also shines at World Championship
Thunder center Nenad Krstic of Serbia, left, attempts to drive past Croatia's Markos Tomas at the World Championship in Istanbul, Turkey, on Saturday. (AP photo)
Sixty percent of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s starting lineup remains alive at the FIBA World Championship in Turkey.
Game-by-game achievements of small forward Kevin Durant and point guard Russell Westbrook on unbeaten Team USA (6-0) have been well-documented in The Oklahoman and on this blog site — and with good reason given how well both have performed. Meanwhile, Thunder starting center Nenad Krstic of Serbia has become somewhat of a forgotten participant.
Krstic played a key role in Serbia (5-1) surviving the first round of elimination play, scoring a team-high 16 points in a last-second 73-72 victory over rival Croatia on Saturday. Serbia is 3-0 with Krstic in the lineup and next plays defending FIBA champion Spain (4-2) on Wednesday in a quarterfinal contest.
Krstic had to serve a three-game suspension at the outset of the World Championship for his role in a melee against Greece the week prior to the competition. Since then, he has led his team in scoring (16.0) and rebounding (7.0).
“Nenad has a big personality and is a very important part of the team. I think the last three games (since returning from suspension) he has fought very hard and I wish for that to continue.” — Serbia coach Dusan Ivkovic
This tournament has confirmed the skills of Durant and Westbrook.
Last season, Durant became the youngest NBA scoring champion in history (30.1). He is Team USA’s go-to scorer, taking 25 more shots than any of his teammates. Much like his role with the Thunder, Westbrook has displayed his eye-popping explosiveness, doing much of his damage off penetration and in transition. (He has attempted just two 3-pointers in six games.)
Durant leads the Americans in scoring (17.7) and is second in rebounding (6.0) and steals (10). He is shooting 54.2 percent (39 of 72) from the field and 94.4 percent (17 of 18) from the free-throw line.
Westbrook is averaging 7.5 points, 2.7 assists, 1.8 rebounds, has seven steals, is shooting .529 percent (18 of 34) from the field and 69.2 percent (9 of 13) from the free-throw line.
Meanwhile, the World Championship has shown Krstic in a somewhat different light.
Krstic has been asked to do more offensively for Serbia. He was the Thunder’s fifth-leading scorer (8.4) and attempted just 1.4 free throws per game last season. With Serbia, he is scoring nearly twice as many points and averaging 8.0 free throws per game.
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[...] John Rohde updating on Nenad Krstic: “Krstic played a key role in Serbia (5-1) surviving the first round of elimination play, scoring a team-high 16 points in a last-second 73-72 victory over rival Croatia on Saturday. Serbia is 3-0 with Krstic in the lineup and next plays defending FIBA champion Spain (4-2) on Wednesday in a quarterfinal contest.” [...]