J
Joe Coles
Guest
United States’s Damian Lillard (6) drives around Australia’s Jock Landale (13), center, during men’s basketball semifinal game at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021, in Saitama, Japan. | Eric Gay, Associated Press
For one half, Australia not only hung with the United States basketball team, but looked like the better squad on Wednesday night.
Australia’s ball movement and defense was better than the USAs for much of the first half, and the Boomers led 41-26 with five minutes remaining in the second quarter.
But the United States went on a 16-4 run to close the half, buckling down on defense and getting good performances by Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday to erase the double-digit deficit going into halftime and trailed only 45-42.
Then the United States simply flipped the switch in the third quarter, as it has often done during the second half of these Olympics, outscoring Australia 32-10 to take a commanding 74-55 lead into the fourth quarter, one that proved insurmountable for Australia as the USA won 97-78 to advance to the gold medal game.
Durant, Holiday and Booker were the stars in the third quarter, with Booker scoring 11 points, Durant adding eight and Holiday scoring six. Durant finished the game with 23 points, leading all scorers. Booker had 20 and Holiday and Khris Middleton each had 11.
Former Weber State star Damian Lillard had five points, three rebounds and an assist in 17 minutes, 10 seconds of action.
Utah Jazz guard Joe Ingles scored nine points on 3-of-5 shooting and also had two rebounds and two assists for Australia. Former Jazz guard Dante Exum was Australia’s leading scorer at halftime with 10, and he finished with 14 plus four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
The United States will play the winner of Thursday morning’s semifinal between France — featuring Jazz center Rudy Gobert — and Slovenia — featuring Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic — on Friday at 8:30 p.m. MDT in the gold medal game.
Ingles and Australia will play the loser of France and Slovenia in the bronze medal game on Saturday at 5 a.m. MDT.
Up Next
8/5, 2:30 a.m. MDT: Nathaniel Coleman (Team USA, Utah native), men’s climbing speed qualification
8/5, 3:30 a.m. MDT: Nathaniel Coleman (Team USA, Utah native), men’s climbing bouldering qualification
8/5, 4 a.m. MDT: Eddy Alvarez (Team USA, former Salt Lake Community College baseball player), baseball vs. TBD, semifinals
8/5, 5 a.m. MDT: Rudy Gobert (Team France, Utah Jazz player), men’s basketball vs. Slovenia, semifinals
8/5, 6:10 a.m. MDT: Nathaniel Coleman (Team USA, Utah native), men’s climbing lead qualification
8/6, 8:30 p.m. MDT: Damian Lillard (Team USA, former Weber State basketball player), men’s basketball vs. TBD, gold medal game
8/7, 5 a.m. MDT: Joe Ingles (Team Australia, Utah Jazz player), men’s basketball vs. TBD, bronze medal game
Full Story from the Deseret News...