For USA Basketball, an arduous journey to a familiar destination

SAITAMA, Japan — There hasn’t been much razzle dazzle, but Team USA staked itself to a solid 44-39 halftime lead in the gold medal game against France with controlled offense and disruptive defense.

Red-hot Kevin Durant has been the story once again for Team USA, netting a game-high 21 points on 7-for-14 shooting. There’s been a little bit of everything from Durant in a methodical first half: a three-pointer, a backdoor cut for a layup and, of course, his go-to midrange jumpers. Nicolas Batum, tasked with guarding the Brooklyn Nets forward, has picked up two fouls.

SAITAMA, Japan — Blame the 11:30 a.m. local tip time. Blame the high-pressure stakes of playing for gold. Blame a small starting lineup that doesn’t possess any go-to scorers inside.

No matter the explanation, Team USA got off to another slow start in its gold medal showdown with France at Saitama Super Arena on Saturday. While the Americans missed their first eight three-point attempts and fell into an early 10-4 hole, high-energy defense and a scoring flourish from Kevin Durant was enough for the U.S. to take a 22-18 lead at the end of the first quarter. Durant led all scorers with 12 points in the first quarter.

SAITAMA, Japan — Team USA changed to a three-guard starting lineup immediately after its Olympic opening loss to France, and it will keep that look for the fifth straight game in its gold medal game rematch.

Coach Gregg Popovich will start Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bam Adebayo.

France will start Nando de Colo, Evan Fournier, Nicolas Batum, Guerschon Yabusele and Rudy Gobert.

In the opening loss, Popovich utilized a bigger lineup that included Lillard, Zach LaVine, Durant and two big men: Draymond Green and Bam Adebayo. The next game, Popovich inserted Holiday and Booker in place of Green and LaVine. Both Holiday and Booker were late arriving to Tokyo because they were competing in the NBA Finals.

SAITAMA, Japan — Team USA and France are set to face off in the men’s basketball gold medal game at Saitama Super Arena on Saturday.

For the Americans, a win would mark their fourth straight Olympic gold medal and it would avenge two recent losses to the French. At the 2019 FIBA World Cup, France eliminated Team USA in the quarterfinals. And in the Tokyo Olympics opener, France stunned Team USA 83-76 in group play.

Team USA is 9-2 all-time against France in major international tournaments, including a win in the 2000 Olympic final. The Americans are seeking their 16th Olympic gold while France is seeking its first, after previously winning silver in 1948 and 2000.

SAITAMA, Japan — The men’s basketball gold medal game at the Tokyo Olympics will give Team USA a shot at redemption.

Team USA (4-1) will face France (5-0) at Saitama Super Arena on Saturday as it seeks its fourth consecutive Olympic gold and its 16th in 19 appearances.

While the United States is 9-2 all-time in major international tournaments against France, the Americans suffered an elimination loss to the French in the quarterfinals of the 2019 FIBA World Cup and an opening loss in Group A play in Tokyo.

SAITAMA, Japan — If the U.S. men’s basketball team were a car, it would have only two gears: first and sixth. If it were a thermostat, there would only be two temperature settings: 65 degrees and 82 degrees.

At these Tokyo Olympics, Team USA has been either horrid or “holy cow,” with nothing in between. That familiar script played out again in a 97-78 victory over Australia on Thursday in the semifinals at Saitama Super Arena, where Team USA missed its first 10 three-pointers and made a litany of mistakes in an unsightly first half. Yet the Americans, led by Kevin Durant, responded by cranking it up with a 12-0 run to start the second half to cruise past one of their biggest threats at these Games.

SAITAMA, Japan — When the U.S. men’s basketball team lost its exhibition opener to Nigeria, Coach Gregg Popovich said that he was “kind of glad it happened” and that it “could be the most important thing in this tournament for us.”

That defeat, pitched as a wake-up call, was followed by another two nights later, to Australia. After a long flight to Japan and nearly a week to prepare, Team USA promptly lost its Olympic opener to France in ominous and perplexing fashion. The French climbed out of a seven-point hole in the final four minutes to claim an 83-76 victory July 25, then barely batted an eyelash after dealing the Americans their first Olympic loss since 2004.