In his return to competitive basketball in a public setting, Kevin Durant needed only seven seconds, some pindown action from Russell Westbrook and an on-point swing pass from Nick Collison to tally his first three.

The shot came from the right wing, moments after the opening tip on Sunday afternoon in Newcastle. The Thunder held its annual intrasquad scrimmage inside the town's intimate high school gym. More than 2,000 Thunder fans crowded the place for a unique look at their established sports heroes and a first glimpse of new coach Billy Donovan.

But it was the recovered Durant who served as the star attraction, before the first possession and long after.

Every player emerged from the tunnel to a nice ovation. Durant's introduction, reserved for last, was easily the loudest. He strolled onto the court with a huge smile, waved to the energized crowd and increased the noise level with that sense-the-moment 3 just minutes after.