Devin Booker had 20 points in Thursday's win over Australia. (USA Basketball Photo)
Devin Booker didn’t make any excuses about the way Team USA started against Australia Thursday in the Olympic semifinals before overcoming a 15-point deficit to win 97-78 and earn a shot at a fourth straight gold medal for the Americans. Team USA will play France — the team that beat USA in the first game in Tokyo — tonight at 10:30 p.m. EDT on Peacock in the gold medal game.
“Big win for us. Another slow start, which we talked about before the game, but it has a lot to do with the way Australia plays. A lot of talented guys in that group. But I think once we picked it up on the defensive end, it helped us out a lot as a team,” said Booker.
The former UK star had 20 points, three rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal in the win. In five Olympic games, he is averaging 10.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting 46 percent from the field overall and 41 percent from 3-point range. Booker, though, has taken just 12 3-pointers in 102 minutes of play.
Booker said there was no reason for the NBA players to panic when they fell behind.
“We’ve been in plenty of games before, down plenty of points. So, understanding how the game works and understanding that you have to lock in. We said it before, it’s a really talented Australia team, and we understand that,” Booker said. “So obviously, getting down 15 points, you gotta bring it up a notch, and that’s what we did.
It’s easier to stay calm when you have Kevin Durant on your team.
Durant had 23 points and nine rebounds Thursday. Durant became USA’s all-time Olympic career scorer earlier in Tokyo and will be going for his third Olympic gold medal. He had 30 points in each of his previous two gold-medal games.
Booker said Durant, who also has won two NBA championships, is the team’s clear leader on and off the court.
“We get that same spirit and that vibe and energy from him off the court. He’s been in these situations before, and he’s leading us as such,” Booker said. “I think these games are real meaningful to him and our whole team.
“He’s been a great leader for us. We feed off what he does, and we feed off his energy.”
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Former UK player Bam Adebayo has started all five Olympic games and is averaging 6.4 points, a team-high 5.6 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game. He’s made 13 of 24 shots in 92 minutes.
Another former Cat, Keldon Johnson, has played just 22 minutes in four games.
