Kevin Durant celebrates the USA’s victory over Australia in the men’s basketball semifinal of the Tokyo Olympic Games on August 5, 2021 in Saitama, Japan / External Source
Tokyo, (Prensa Latina) .- The United States bounced back from a disastrous first quarter to then overwhelm and beat Australia 97-78 in one of the basketball semifinals (m) of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
With the offensive leadership of Kevin Durant (23) and Devin Booker (20), the so-called “Dream Team” North America came from below after an initial deficit of 24-18 and dominated second and third quarter by 24-21 and 32-10, in that order, to then tie the last segment 23-23 with the difference already secured.
After missing several 3-pointers in the first half and finishing with just two shots in 13 attempts, they hit seven of 15 shots from long range in the second half to establish the winning margin.
The rival of the northern team in the defense of its crown under the five rings will be the winner of the other semifinal duel between France and Slovenia in a few hours.
Since the International Basketball Federation allowed professional players to enter their tournaments in 1989, the United States has only lost the Olympic gold medal in Athens 2004, when they lost to subsequent champion Argentina in the semifinals.
