Kevin Durant believes the United States are starting to become more comfortable as a team with the Olympic gold medal in their sights after surviving a stern test from Spain.
Durant was instrumental for Team USA, scoring 29 points as they claimed a 95-81 quarter-final victory at Tokyo 2020.
Gregg Popovich's team trailed narrowly after the first quarter and were then 10 points down in the second before finding their rhythm to go into the half tied.
They pulled away in the final two quarters to set up a last-four meeting with Australia, with Durant seemingly growing more confident Team USA will live up to expectations and seal the gold medal.
"WE'RE IN A GOOD SPOT"
Team USA were in a 39-29 hole with under three and a half minutes left in the second quarter, but then went on a 14-4 run to level matters at 43-43.
Durant felt avoiding going into the second half with a big deficit was critical and, according to the two-time NBA Finals MVP, a roster stacked with elite talent is gelling at the right time.
"We didn't want to go into the half down double digits. This team [Spain] runs their sets with precision, they run it with pace and then on the defensive side of the ball they do a good job of running and jumping and playing together on the defence," said Durant.
"So we knew we didn't want to get down big against this team.
"We're in a good spot right now. Guys are starting to understand their roles and just get more comfortable within the team.
"In this setting, it's always hard to get your footing as an individual player because you don't want to step on toes.
"I love how we stuck with it throughout this whole period of time and guys started figuring out what we need to do.
"You've just got to finish it. We're supposed to be here. For us it's about getting a gold."
BOOMERS TO SPOIL THE PARTY?
An uneven exhibition schedule prior to the Games saw the USA lose to both Nigeria and Australia.
Australia were 91-83 victors last month and they have continued to impress since getting to Tokyo.
The Boomers set up a rematch with the gold medal favourites in fine style on Tuesday, sweeping aside Argentina 97-59 to secure their place in the semis.
Five Australia players reached double figures, Patty Mills leading the way with 18 points as he went three of four from beyond the arc.
SLOVENIA'S 'UNBELIEVABLE' ACHIEVEMENT
Slovenia were similarly dominant in seeing off Germany in their last-eight clash, easing to a 94-70 victory.
It means a battle between Durant and Co. and Slovenia superstar Luka Doncic for the gold medal is still very much a possibility.
Zoran Dragic was the star of the show against Germany, top-scoring with 27 points on 11 of 13 shooting, while Doncic added 20 of his own.
"It's unbelievable, a country of two million being top four in the world," Doncic said of Slovenia reaching the semis. "We already achieved a lot by just going to the Olympics, it was our first time in history."
Slovenia have never lost a competitive game in which Doncic has featured, if that run continues for two more games, they will be Olympic champions.
"It's going to be very, very hard," he added. "We've got some tough opponents but we're going to be ready, we've got nothing to lose and I hope we win two more."
France stand between Slovenia and a place in the final, having overcome Italy 84-75.
Rudy Gobert tallied 22 points and nine rebounds for France and Evan Fournier put up 21 to keep their hopes of repeating their preliminary round win over the USA in the final intact.
Heat anticipating 'dog fight' with 76ers – Martin
The Miami Heat are anticipating a "dog fight" in their play-in matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers, according to forward Caleb Martin.
The 8th-seeded Heat face the 7th-seeded Sixers - who have listed Joel Embiid as questionable - at Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday.
Defeat for the Heat would see them in a win-or-go-home contest, but victory would see them open the playoffs against the New York Knicks.
Speaking ahead of the showdown with the Sixers, Martin is quoted by the Miami Herald as saying: "Everybody knows what's at stake going into that building, including them.
"We just expect a dog fight. We went through a lot of difficult games this year, over the last couple years, to get us prepared for these types of moments.
"So we'll definitely come in with the right mentality."
An injury-ravaged Heat ended the regular season with a record of 46-36, including a run of 7-3 across their final 10 games.
The Heat hope to have Duncan Robinson back after a four-game absence through a back injury, but Terry Rozier has been ruled out.
Miami and Philadelphia split the season series, and Heat center Bam Adebayo sees no reason why his side cannot come out on top this time around.
"We've been in a lot of big games before," he said. "We've all experienced it. We've been to the Finals. We understand what's at stake."
Warriors coach Kerr hoping for repeat showing from 'sublime' Curry
Steve Kerr is hoping for more of the same from "sublime" Steph Curry when the Golden State Warriors face the Sacramento Kings in the play-ins.
Curry produced a career-high 50 points to guide the Warriors to a Game 7 victory in Sacramento in the sides' most recent win-or-bust showdown.
The two-time MVP became the first player in playoff history to score 20 points or more from behind the arc and in the paint in the same game.
Asked about that performance on the eve of Tuesday's do-or-die matchup with Sacramento at Golden 1 Center, Kerr told reporters: "He's one of the great clutch players in the history of the league, we know that.
"That performance did not surprise me because he's 'that guy'. What I remember about that game is that we extended a lead at the end of the third, I think we went into the fourth up by 12 or something and so we had timeouts saved up.
"And the conversation you're referring to I think I was telling him we can take a timeout anytime you want just to get a couple of minutes of rest. And we were able to control that fourth quarter, but he was so sublime."
Curry leads the NBA standings across the regular season for average 3-point field goals made (4.8) and is ninth overall in terms of average points per game (26.4).
If the Warriors are to stay on course for the playoffs, the four-time NBA champion will likely have a major part to play.
"I think he led the league in player efficiency this year and clutch minutes," Kerr added of what to expect from Curry.
"We've seen him win championships, win Finals MVP. I mean Steph Curry is Steph Curry."
Griffin announces retirement after 14-year NBA career
Blake Griffin has dunked in an NBA game for the last time.
The six-time All-Star announced his retirement on social media on Tuesday after a 14-year pro career.
The first overall pick of the 2009 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, Griffin missed the entire 2009-10 season with a broken patella in his left knee sustained in the preseason.
He made an immediate impact the following year, however, winning the 2010-11 Rookie of the Year Award, the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest and was named to the first of five consecutive All-Star teams while playing for the Clippers.
A three-time All-NBA Second Team selection and a two-time All-NBA Third Team pick, Griffin made his final All-Star Game appearance in 2019, with the Detroit Pistons.
The 35-year-old spent the 2023-24 season out of basketball as a free agent.
Griffin's best season came in 2013-14, when he finished third in MVP voting with averages of 24.1 points per game, 9.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists to help the Clippers capture the Pacific Division title.
In his final NBA season, Griffin averaged career lows of 4.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 41 games for the Boston Celtics in 2022-23.
Though injuries slowed him in recent seasons, Griffin, who also played for the Brooklyn Nets, still averaged 19.0 points per game and 8.0 rebounds in 765 career games.
One of basketball's top dunkers, Griffin may be best remembered for winning the Slam Dunk Contest by dunking the ball after jumping over a parked car on the floor at his home-court in Los Angeles.
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