Highlights and Best Moments: USA 97-78 Australia in Tokyo 2020

Thank you for following the broadcast of the 2020 Olympic Games men's basketball semi-final game between the United States and Australia.

The USA tightened up in the second half to clinch the victory and, with it, secure their place in the final, where they now await either France or Slovenia.

United States 97-78 Australia.

Exum scores both penalty kicks.

Thomas with the jumper and basketing.

Middleton takes advantage of the rebound and makes the basket all alone.

Joe Ingles enters very easily to make the basket.

Middleton again from the corner and makes the basket.

Landele with a very good move under the hoop to score two points.

United States 74-55 Australia.

Lavine steals the ball and makes the spectacular basket.

Tatum with the three-pointer from the corner after having all the time in the world.

Middleton with the half turn to complete the double.

Kay with a three-pointer from the corner to get within six points.

Kevin Durant is still on fire and now he has one more triple in his show.

Kevin Durant with the jumper to add two more points.

Holiday with a double and the United States had already turned the game around.

Holiday clears the zone and attacks the hoop with a double.

The second half begins.

United States 42-45 Australia.

Kevin Durant with another jumper to make the double.

Jason Tatum with the long shot to add three more points.

Mills with the pressure on him takes a well-struck shot to score three more points.

Kevin Durant, based on strength and power, throws the ball in for two more points.

Once again Exum does damage but from the three-pointer.

Exum sharpens his aim and scores two more points.

Goulding scores both shots from the free throw line.

Middleton with a half turn and puts the ball into the net.

USA 18-24 Australia.

Lillard attacks the rim and adds two more to close the gap.

Holiday dives into the kitchen to add two more.

Middleton takes advantage of the space to get into the paint and add two more.

The United States reacts with Kevin Durant's double-double.

Exum scores both penalty kicks to increase the difference.

Bam Adebayo converts both baskets from the free throw line to tie the game.

Joe Ingles with two doubles in a row to take the lead.

Quickly Kevin Durant with the jumper to open the scoring with a double.

The match between the USA and Australia kicks off.

🇺🇸 Starters vs 🇦🇺 Australia

» @Dame_Lillard
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» @Bam1of1 #Tokyo2020 #Basketball pic.twitter.com/WwgFJomvvw — USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 5, 2021

The national anthems are played: first the Australian and then the United States.

All elements from both Australia and the United States are currently being presented.

The teams are finishing their respective warm-ups and almost everything is ready for the start of the first semi-final between the USA and Australia.

The winner of the USA-Australia game will play the winner of the European clash between Slovenia and France in a few hours in Tokyo.

Patty Mills is Australia's man to watch, as he had a brilliant performance in their friendly game upset of the United States, contributing 22 points.

According to the latest FIBA rankings, the USA is the best and has already eliminated second best Spain and will now look to do the same against number three Australia, who finished fourth in the FIBA 2019 tournament.

There the story is different with two wins for Australia and five losses, however, they met prior to these Olympic Games where the Oceania country surprised by winning 91-83, even though the Dream Team had taken a nine-point lead at halftime.

Whether at senior or senior level, but Australia have faced the United States 15 times in official matches and have lost just as many, a situation they will be looking to change today.

Adebayo and his gang are already warming up and chatting ahead of the kick-off.

Australia and the United States already met yesterday but in women's basketball, where the Stars and Stripes ran away with the win to advance to the semi-finals, will history repeat itself tonight?

Including the pre-season, the United States have gone from strength to strength and the reflection of this was that in the second half of the quarter-final against Spain they pressed the accelerator and made the difference to take the win against the Iberians.

The United States and Australia have a date with history as they determine the first men's basketball finalist of the 2020 Olympic Games. We start with the coverage.

Kevin Durant has demonstrated his quality and leadership on and off the court, being the best scorer for the United States in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, although in second place has been Jason Tatum with an average of 15.8 points per game.

The United States only managed to surpass 100 points in two games, in which they were far superior against Iran and the Czech Republic, while against Spain and France they were unable to surpass the 100-point mark.

In the preparation games prior to the Olympic Games, the United States did not perform well and in addition to losing to Nigeria, they also surprisingly lost to Australia.

Do not miss a detail of the match with the live updates and commentaries of VAVEL. Follow along with us all the details, commentaries, analysis and lineups for this USA vs Australia Men's Basketball Olympic Games 2020.

This is the start time of the game USA vs Australia of 4th August in several countries:

Argentina: 1:15 AM.

Bolivia: 12:15 AM in Marca Claro.

Brazil: 1:15 AM in Marca Claro.

Chile: 12:15 AM in Marca Claro.

Colombia: 11:15 PM in Marca Claro.

Ecuador: 11:15 PM in Marca Claro.

USA (ET): 12:15 AM in NBC.

Spain: 6:15 PM.

Mexico: 11:15 AM in Marca Claro.

Paraguay: 1:15 AM in Marca Claro.

Peru: 11:15 PM in Marca Claro.

Uruguay: 1:15 AM in Marca Claro.

Forward Joe Ingles of the Utah Jazz knows North American basketball to perfection and could be a lethal weapon to pull off the upset, as he did against Argentina where he spent 28:50 minutes on the court and gave a master class in defensive work; he only scored 11 points.

Kevin Durant's magic is appearing in the last games and since he broke the record of an American player with the most points in an Olympic Games, he continues to be unbeatable; against Spain he was fundamental to the victory by scoring 29 points.

4 GOULDING Chris Chris Point Guard, 5 MILLS Patty (C) Point Guard, 6 GREEN Josh Small Forward, 7 ENGLISH Joe Small Forward, 8 DELLAVEDOVA Matthew Point Guard, 9 SOBEY Nathan Small Forward, 10 THYBULLE Matisse Point Guard, 11 EXUM Dante Point Guard, 12 BAYNES Aron Small Forward, 13 LANDALE Jock Center, 14 REATH Duop Thomas Center, 15 KAY Nic Wing Center.

Edrice Adebayo, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Houston Grant, Draymond Green, Jrue Holiday, Keldson Wilder, Zachary Thomas, Damian Lillard, Javale McGee, Khris Middleton and Jayson Tatum.

The winner of the game between Australia and the USA will wait for the winner of the key between Slovenia and France to dispute the gold medal next Friday on Japanese soil.

Australia is aware of the complexity of their opponents, but they come with everything to gain and nothing to lose. In the group stage they started with victories against Nigeria and Italy, although in their second match they lost against Belgium; in the last round they had no problems to beat Argentina.

If the United States does not reach the final it would be a total failure, so the goal is victory. They started the group stage by losing to France, but made up for it by beating the Czech Republic and Iran; in the quarterfinals they stepped on the gas in the final straight to beat Spain.

The Saitama Super Arena was built in 2000 and has not only served to host sporting events, but has also hosted concerts and, in fact, houses a John Lennon museum. This venue will host all men's and women's basketball games.

The USA vs Australia match will be played at the Saitama Super Arena, in Tokyo, Japan. The kick-off is scheduled at 12:15 am ET.

My name is Adrian Hernandez and I will be your host for this game. We will provide you with pre-game analysis, roster updates, and news as it happens live here on VAVEL.