Lillard stars as Team USA round out Olympic preparations with Spain win

By Sports Desk July 18, 2021

The United States will head for Tokyo with back-to-back men's basketball wins after accounting for Spain 83-76 in their final exhibition game in Las Vegas prior to the Olympic Games.

Team USA have had a far-from-ideal Olympics preparation, defeated by Nigeria and Australia in exhibition games last week and losing Kevin Love to injury and Bradley Beal due to health and safety protocols.

Gregg Popovich's side bounced back by beating Argentina on Tuesday and finished off their Las Vegas camp against the Spanish on Sunday.

Damian Lillard top scored with 19 points with six assists for Team USA, while Kevin Durant had 14 points, two assists, two rebounds and two blocks.

Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine pulled off a series of dunks to put an exclamation mark on the performance.

Team USA are set to fly out for Tokyo on Monday, ahead of their Olympics opener against France on Sunday.

USA are grouped with France, Iran and the Czech Republic in men's basketball at the Tokyo Olympics where they are gold medal favourites.

In the women's USA defeated Nigeria 93-62 on Sunday to conclude their Olympic preparations, heading in as gold medal favourites too.

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  • Injured Barcelona star Yamal withdraws from Spain squad Injured Barcelona star Yamal withdraws from Spain squad

    Spain will be without star winger Lamine Yamal for their upcoming Nations League games against Denmark and Switzerland.

    Yamal starred for La Roja at Euro 2024 and has been exceptional for Barcelona so far this season.

    The teenager has already provided a LaLiga-leading seven assists this term, while his 12 goal contributions rank joint-third in Spain's top tier, behind club-mates Robert Lewandowski (16) and Raphinha (13).

    Yamal has also attempted (84) and completed (34) more dribbles than any other player in LaLiga in 2024-25, while Barca's two league defeats have come in matches in which the attacker did not start; a 4-2 loss at Osasuna in September, and a 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad on Sunday.

    Indeed, injured Yamal was left out of Hansi Flick's squad against La Real, and Spain have now called up Bryan Gil in his place, and Barcelona confirmed on Monday that the 17-year-old has suffered a grade one high ankle sprain, and will be out of action for up to three weeks.

    Luis de la Fuente's team are top of their Nations League group, with 10 points from their four matches.

    La Roja face Denmark on Friday before hosting Switzerland on November 18. 

    Should Spain collect one more win from their final two matches of 2024, then they will set a new national record for the number of victories in all competitions in a single calendar year. surpassing the 10 they managed in 2009.

    Barca also confirmed that Lewandowski will need 10 days out of action after suffering a back injury, meaning he will sit out Poland's matches against Portugal and Scotland.

  • 'Giannis is a child' - Brown disappointed by fake handshake 'Giannis is a child' - Brown disappointed by fake handshake

    Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown was disappointed with Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo after he offered him a fake handshake during their 113-107 win on Sunday.

    The incident happened in the second quarter of Boston's victory when Antetokounmpo offered his hand to Brown after giving away an offensive foul.

    But before Brown could accept it, the former MVP pulled his hand back and ran it through his hair. After laughing about it, he then reached out to offer Brown his hand again, although the gesture was not accepted and Brown shook his head.

    "Giannis is a child," Brown said after the game. "I'm just focused on helping my team get a win. And that's what we did tonight."

    Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, was surprised to hear that Brown had reacted so badly after the game after having previously joked with Brown on the court.

    "We always joke around with the flow of the game," Antetokounmpo said. "It's something that I do to my kids, I play around.

    "This is who I am. I play the game with fun, joy."

    The Bucks held the lead at half-time, with Antetokounmpo scoring 19 points in the first quarter, his highest-scoring quarter this season. However, they could not hold out for the win as they fell to 2-8.

    After the game, Antetokounmpo – who eventually finished with 42 points and 13 rebounds – was complimentary about Brown in an attempt to seemingly smooth things over.

    "I think he's an incredible player," he said. "I'm just going to continue to be me. And at the end of the day, if I'm called a child, so be it.

    "I just try to go out there and have fun. But again, [he is a] great player, great competitor. If I have another opportunity, I'll do it again."

    Brown was called for a flagrant foul against Antetokounmpo in the fourth quarter after challenging him in the air, with the official saying it was excessive and unnecessary contact.

    The foul was, according to Brown, not intentional or in response to the earlier handshake gesture.

  • Nuggets coach Malone running out of ways to laud 'best player in the world' Jokic Nuggets coach Malone running out of ways to laud 'best player in the world' Jokic

    Michael Malone is running out of superlatives for Nikola Jokic, who the Denver Nuggets coach labelled "the best player in the world".

    Jokic posted a triple-double of 37 points, 15 assists and 18 rebounds as the Nuggets claimed a 122-120 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. He is the first player in NBA history to finish with that stat line.

    The Nuggets needed a last-gasp mid-range jumper from Michael Porter Jr. to clinch their fifth straight win, though Jokic's performance rightly stole the show.

    It was Jokic's fourth straight triple-double. The Serbian is averaging 29.7 points per game this season, the fourth-highest PPG average in the NBA, while his 13.7 rebounds and 11.7 assists per game are league-highs.

    Speaking to the press after the game, Malone quipped: I would assume that after tonight's performance, he'll only be fifth in the MVP voting.

    "He just needs to do more for us, because clearly what he’s been doing hasn't been noticed by anyone on the outside of this Rocky Mountain empire.

    "But, 37-15-18, three steels, the minutes that he played – 38 is a good number, I'm happy about that, we kept him under 40.

    "On a serious note, just incredible. We're all running out of words, adjectives and ways to describe his greatness and his impact.

    "The simple way to say it is he’s the best player in the world. That's the best way to say it, in my opinion."

    Jokic has won the NBA's MVP award in three of the past four seasons.

    The Mavericks, meanwhile, have now lost four of their last six games.

    Kyrie Irving top-scored with 43 points, while Luka Doncic added 24, but it was not enough for Dallas to get back on track following a defeat to the Phoenix Suns.

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