United States head coach Steve Kerr is expecting a tough game against underdogs Brazil when the sides meet in the quarter-finals of the Olympic Games on Monday.
The USA qualified for the knockout round as the top seed after staying perfect in the group stage, rounding it off with a 104-83 victory over Puerto Rico on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Brazil are the underdogs in the competition and squeezed into the last eight thanks to a tiebreaker and some excellent 3-point shooting to see off Japan in what turned out to be the deciding game.
While the USA are on the opposite side of the draw to the powerhouses of Canada, France and Germany, Kerr is not letting the four-time reigning Olympic champions rest on their laurels.
"They're very physical. I think they're the number one offensive rebounding team in the tournament," Kerr said.
"They've got a lot of really good shooters, and they just play hard. They compete play after play, so we'll have to be ready for their physicality and their shooting, and we need to be on edge and ready for them because they're not going to back down.
"In the spirit of the Olympics and the marathon/sprint metaphor that I've used, now that we've been through it, I would call it the 800 meters," Kerr said. "We're running really hard, but it's not the 100 meters."
In the opening three games, Brazil had six different players averaging eight points or more in the Olympics, while the team averaged 13 offensive rebounds per game.
The USA have already given up 16 more offensive rebounds than they have got, one of the few weak spots in the team challenging for a fifth consecutive gold medal.
Kerr's team face Brazil on Monday, with a place in the semi-finals against either Serbia or Australia at stake.
Stewart proud of resilience after Liberty bounce back to level WNBA Finals
Breanna Stewart believes she showed resilience in bouncing back from New York Liberty's defeat in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, praising her team-mates for their support.
The Liberty avenged their shock defeat to the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday, this time holding off their comeback to win 80-66 in Game 2 on Sunday.
Stewart scored 21 points, adding eight rebounds and five assists, also setting a WNBA Finals single-game record with seven steals.
The two-time league MVP was disappointed with the performance in the opener but was much more upbeat after helping to level the series at 1-1.
"The moment the game ended Thursday, I was looking forward to Sunday," Stewart said.
"I can't strive to be the best, to be great, but then be afraid to fail. This is what happens when you put yourself in high-stress, important situations.
"You face possible failure. Yeah, I was upset because we could have won [Thursday's] game. But I'm happy I took the shots. Throughout this entire process, my team has my back every step of the way."
Having played the first two games at home, the Liberty now have two games at the Target Arena to look forward to.
"We embrace it; we like it when it's loud, when it's difficult," Stewart added of their trip to Minnesota. "Hopefully it's going to be an incredible atmosphere for both of those games.
"[It's about] not getting too high or too low; things are going to seem bigger than they are because they are playing at home. I'm sure Minny said the same thing when they're playing here."
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who struggled with knee injuries in the regular season, was also on top form, going 4 of 6 from 3-point range and finishing with 20 points for New York.
Having knocked down the 3-pointer to give the Liberty the lead ahead of their final surge, Laney-Hamilton is hopeful she will be able to build on this performance going forward.
"I think it gives me a little bit of momentum as we continue to go through the series," she said.
"It felt really good because I know I've been struggling, physically, mentally as I've been going through everything."
Game 3 takes place on Wednesday in Minnesota.
New York Liberty tie WNBA Finals with Game 2 win
Breeanna Stewart scored 21 points and the New York Liberty pulled away late for Sunday's crucial 80-66 Game 2 win over the Minnesota Lynx that evened the WNBA Finals at 1-1.
The top-seeded Liberty closed the game on a 12-0 run to avenge Thursday's stunning home loss to the Lynx, in which second-seeded Minnesota overcame a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to rally for a 95-93 overtime win to open the championship series.
Minnesota put forth another late comeback try in Game 2, as it cut a 10-point third-quarter deficit down to two when Napheesa Collier's turnaround jumper with 6:46 remaining brought the Lynx within 64-62.
It remained a two-point game until New York's Betnijah Laney-Hamilton knocked down a 3-pointer with 3:21 left to give the Liberty a 71-66 lead and start the game-sealing final surge.
Laney-Hamilton went 4 of 6 from 3-point range and finished with 20 points for New York, which made good on 11 of 24 shots from beyond the arc (45.8 per cent) compared to 6 of 20 (30 per cent) for Minnesota.
Stewart added eight rebounds and five assists while setting a WNBA Finals single-game record with seven steals. Fellow All-Star Sabrina Ionescu chipped in 15 points and five assists to help the Liberty avoid a dreaded 0-2 deficit in the best-of-five series.
Collier led the Lynx with 16 points and eight rebounds, while team-mate Courtney Williams recorded 15 points and eight assists and Alanna Smith had 14 points for Minnesota.
The Lynx will host the next two games of the series, with Game 3 to take place Wednesday in Minneapolis.
Ionescu scored 12 points in the first quarter as the Liberty took a 31-21 lead into the second, and New York shot 51.4 per cent in the first half to enter the break with a 49-39 advantage.
Minnesota trailed 64-55 early in the fourth quarter before closing the gap with a 7-0 run capped by Collier's jumper, which followed a 3-pointer from Kayla McBride.
Thompson gets butterflies ahead of Mavs bow, predicts 'special' future
Klay Thompson admitted to getting butterflies ahead of making his Dallas Mavericks debut on Thursday, before predicting his stint with the team will be "special".
Thompson was at the centre of the Golden State Warriors' dynasty before leaving the franchise in July, winning four NBA championships in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022.
Having been drafted 11th overall in 2011, Thompson left the Warriors as the player with the fourth-most games played in team history (793) and the sixth-most points (15,531).
He penned a three-year, $50million deal with the Mavs ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, and his first preseason appearance for the team came in a 107-102 loss to the Utah Jazz.
Thompson scored 10 points in 18 first-half minutes at American Airlines Center, before revealing his pre-game nerves were the worst he had experienced since his first trip to the NBA Finals.
"I haven't been that nervous, I don't think, since the 2015 Finals Game 1," Thompson said after the game.
"It felt so good just to go out there and play and work those jitters out.
"It was a new experience, and it's a natural feeling when you've been somewhere so long and to be somewhere new in a new environment.
"To finally put the uniform on, it felt amazing. I'm just excited to experience a new chapter. It's going to be special. I just know it."
Dallas' next preseason game sees them face the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, before they take on the Milwaukee Bucks in their final run-out before the new campaign.
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