ISTANBUL – An arena that was nearly covered in Slovenian green grew louder with every U.S. miss.

Playing a rare early game, the United States had stalled after a quick start, and a double-digit lead was down to five as halftime approached.

Then, every time the Americans needed them, Kevin Durant seemed to get on the scoreboard and Kevin Love was on the backboard.

Durant scored 22 points, Love added 10 points and 11 rebounds in a gritty 13 minutes off the bench, and the Americans beat Slovenia 99-77 on Sunday in an opening-round game.

Rudy Gay finished with 16 points for the Americans (2-0), while Russell Westbrook and Andre Iguodala each had 11. Durant shot 8 of 13 before sitting out the fourth quarter and Love always seemed to be around the ball – even when a Slovenian player tried holding his arm so he couldn’t get it.

Bostjan Nachbar scored 13 points for Slovenia (1-1), which had an enormous edge in the stands but not enough to match the Americans on the court.

Slovenian fans, many dressed in green shirts, lined the streets outside the arena some 90 minutes before tipoff. They filled large areas throughout the building, and stood and roared when the Slovenians came out for pregame warmups.

There wasn’t as much for them to cheer about once the game started.

The Americans face Brazil on Monday night, then have an off day before their final two games in group play.

“No relax, never relax until the tournament’s over,” Odom said. “Then we have two or three weeks until training camp. Then we’ll relax.”

Source: Yahoo! Sports