Once Team USA lost its Olympic opener, hopes of clinching their fourth gold seemed like a distant reality. Before this, they had lost two exhibition games as well and winning against elite teams like Spain seemed far-fetched. But the USA wasn’t the same after defeating France. They were able to get back on their feet and even got past their Spaniard rivals in the quarterfinals.
But the worst was yet to come. Their dreaded Australian opponents, who made them taste the dust in the exhibition games, were going to be their matchups in the semifinals. Team USA was looking for nothing more than just revenge for the humiliation they had to face and succeeded in doing so as they defeated the Boomers 97-78.
Team USA heading towards Tokyo Olympic finals
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The tables turned very quickly for Australia. They were holding onto a tight double-digit lead until Kevin Durant started making some tough baskets and closed in on them. The USA was down by 10 points well into the second, but by halftime, they were behind by 3 points only.
And then USA got their first lead in the third quarter, with Jrue Holiday’s jumper. They outscored Australia 32-10 in the third as they finally were able to hit some three’s from the arc. Without hitting a single three, Durant was just terrific.
At one point in the fourth, the USA had a 20 point lead that would have been near impossible for the Aussies to recover from. Here is what the NBA Twitter world has to say about the Americans advancing one step closer to capturing their fourth consecutive gold.
Australian Style Wings, cooked by Kevin Durant. Carry on…
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) August 5, 2021
🇺🇸
— Bradley Beal (@RealDealBeal23) August 5, 2021
Turn me up bookem
— Mikal Bridges (@mikal_bridges) August 5, 2021
The @nba truly needs to institute the unsportsmanlike foul like @FIBA has. It forces guys to get back on D instead of intentionally fouling to stop fastbreaks. #USA
— Eddie A Johnson (@Jumpshot8) August 5, 2021
Lavine be flying fr
— Mikal Bridges (@mikal_bridges) August 5, 2021
Haha them boys out there cooking…🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) August 5, 2021
Who needs LBJ when we have KD?
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) August 5, 2021
WATCH THIS STORY: Team USA vs Spain Olympic Quarterfinals Highlights: Catch Ricky Rubio’s Scoring Outburst, Zach LaVine’s Hammer & Much More
Devin Booker: The game-changer
As mentioned, Durant was no different from the other games. He continued to lead the team with his stellar scoring and finished the night with 23 points. But it was Devin Booker who stole the show with 20 points of his own. Other than them, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton were the ones who contributed in double digits, 11 points each.
Unfortunately for Australia, Patty Mills could not keep up with the superstar roster. And now the USA is heading towards the finals. The team they will be facing will be either France or Slovenia. Both are teams they should be scared of. One on hand, France has defeated them in the opener, and on the other, there is Luka Doncic.
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Do you think team USA’s luck is going to run out now? Or will they be wearing another gold around their necks by the end of all this?
READ MORE: Who Does Team USA Need to Beat to Win Their 4th Consecutive Gold Medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2021?
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