With rout, US secures spot in final
The U.S. has owned gold for three straight Olympics, making the middle of the medals platform property of the Americans.
The Australians tried everything to shove them off.
“They hit us with a nice punch,” Kevin Durant said after their men’s Olympic semifinals matchup. “We knew that team was going to get us down early and see how we’d respond.”
The response wasn’t what Australia had hoped.
Durant scored 23 points, Devin Booker had 20 and the U.S. blew past and eventually blew away the Aussies 97-78 on Thursday in Saitama after falling into a 15-point hole. With their gold-medal streak looking in jeopardy midway through the second quarter, the Americans overwhelmed the Australians with a 48-14 stretch that gave them a 74-55 lead after three periods.
“Getting down 15 you know you’ve got to bring it up a notch and we did,” Booker said.
Jrue Holiday had 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the U.S., which will play France for a fourth straight gold Saturday. The French beat the Americans 83-76 in their Olympic opener. That was part of a 2-3 start to the summer for the U.S., which included a loss to the Aussies in an exhibition in Las Vegas.
The U.S. beat defending-champion South Korea 7-2 to gain a berth in the baseball gold medal game. Jack López drove in his first two runs of the Olympics with RBI singles, Jamie Westbrook hit a solo homer, and Tyler Austin hit a two-run single as the U.S. built a 7-1 lead with a five-run sixth. The U.S., seeking its second baseball gold and first since 2000, will play host Japan (5-0) on Saturday night.
World-record holder Ryan Crouser broke his own Olympic mark on his way to defending his shot put title. On his last attempt, Crouser, 28, went 76 feet, 5½ inches to earn the first track and field gold medal for the American men in Tokyo. U.S. teammate Joe Kovacs finished second.