Team USA basketball will once again play for the gold medal in the Olympics. They took care of business against Australia after a rough start. The US is looking for their fifth straight gold medal in the Olympics.
First Quarter
The play of the first quarter was easily a Kevin Durant flying block on Dante Exum. It was a defensive duel to get things started. The US opened 2/8 shooting, the Aussie’s were 2/7. Jon Ingles shooting threes is what gave the Boomers the early advantage. Australia was able to find an offensive groove. The US seemed lost defensively. Offensively the US started to get going, but so did the turnovers. A Chris Goulding three is what gave the Aussie’s the lead after one 24-18.
Second Quarter
Goulding continued his hot streak from three. The Aussie’s looked sharp and took 31-22 lead. Exum joined in on the shooting fun as well. When the lead grew to 41-26, the US took a timeout. The US was 0/9 from distance, meanwhile Patty Mills made the shot of the Olympics. The drought finally ended thanks to Devin Booker. Durant kept the ship afloat but he wasn’t getting a lot of help. Somehow, the US was only down 45-42 at halftime as a 14-4 run by Team USA finished the quarter.
Third Quarter
The US finally had a lead as the quarter got started. Durant kept scoring. Mills made another great shot on one leg. A timeout was called with the US having a 9 point lead. The points started coming as the third quarter came to a close with a Zach Lavine break away dunk and a Booker three. After a 32-10 run, the US led 74-55.
Fourth Quarter
Lavine got another dunk off a sprint after collecting a turnover. Team USA began to pull away. Australia chipped away go get back in it and force a USA timeout. After that, the US did not look back. The US will play for the gold medal after winning 97-78.
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