Team USA basketball has been expected to dominate the competition in the Olympics. So far – they have done anything but that.

The U.S. was defeated by Australia’s basketball team 91-83, despite leading at halftime by 11 points. The defeat marks their second in a row after they fell to Nigeria by a scoreline of 90-87, which was arguably the biggest upset in international sports in recent memory.

Head Coach Gregg Popovich emphasized progress rather than results. “After a short time together, there’s a lot of things that have to be covered … We are still working at becoming a team,” said Popovich.

“No disrespect to them, they’re a hell of a team, obviously the guys they’ve got on their roster and Pop standing up there is always nice to see, but we came in here expecting to win the game and that’s what we did,” said Australia and Utah Jazz player Joe Ingles. Even without star player Ben Simmons and having changed their head coach twice in just two years, Australia still managed to grind out a victory. A large part of this victory came from gritty paint play, which saw Australia rack up 44 points.

While Australia looked energetic, physical and played solid team basketball, the U.S. seemed to lack true determination or enthusiasm throughout the contest.

Team USA can no longer win with lackluster performances. if they are to succeed in Tokyo, they will need to improve drastically – and quickly, too.

The Los Angeles Clippers turned to their two superstars in Game 4 of their playoff series with the Utah Jazz – Kawhi Leonard and Paul George – and both provided the necessary boost to lift the Clippers over the Jazz by a final scoreline of 118-104.

Leonard and George both dropped an identical 31 points for the Clippers, meaning that the two provided a cumulative 52.5% of all scoring by Los Angeles. In a post-game interview, George discussed the dynamism of the duo and how it provides a necessary catalyst in sparking their offense. Leonard and George became just the fifth duo since the merger to score 30 points each in back-to-back playoff games.

“It’s opportunities for us to score when we get switches, but then there’s opportunities to allow our teammates to be aggressive and make plays for them when we can attack our mismatches,” George said. “I think it’s just a healthy mix.”

Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr. noted how others on the team view the importance of George and Leonard producing for their squad.

“Those guys are our leaders,” Morris said. “We go as they go and they understand that. Guys have just been picking up the slack behind them.”

One of the most highlight-worthy moments in Leonard’s scoring spree came with an electrifying dunk over Jazz center Derrick Favors.

The Clippers scored early and often, grabbing a first-quarter lead that they never gave up, with Leonard and George leading the charge.

However, the Jazz did not go quietly. Star Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell put up 37 points, Joe Ingles threw in 19 and Bojan Bogdanovic finished with 18.

Jazz coach Quin Snyder did not mince words when discussing his team’s loss.

“We weren’t playing smart in that we weren’t connected… We weren’t putting ourselves in situations where we could have success,” Snyder said.

Leonard and George will look to spur the Clippers to success again in Game 5, which will occur on Wednesday night in Utah.

Donovan Mitchell has been dominant for the Utah Jazz. Utah was able to hold off the Los Angeles Clippers for a 117-111 win in Game 2 Thursday night.

Utah is 6-0 with Mitchell in the starting lineup this postseason, and he’s averaging 32.7 points per game. In Game 1, Mitchell torched the Clippers’ defense, scoring 45 points in a Jazz 112-109 win. He scored 32 of his 45 points in the second half of Game 1.

The Jazz star continued the big production in Thursday’s game by dropping 37 points in another Utah win to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. Just three minutes into Game 2, the All-Star had already racked up 10 points, and by the end of the first half, he had 27.

“He’s just stepping up in a big way,” Jordan Clarkson said of Mitchell. “He’s been a real superstar, MVP-caliber player, All-NBA type of guy. That’s his job, and that’s what he does.”

At the end of the first half, Utah had a 66-53 lead. The scoring continued, and Utah built a 21-point lead in the third quarter. Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue, though, was able to find a way to stop Mitchell and Utah’s offense late in the game. The Clippers employed a zone defense that brought them to within seven points heading into the fourth quarter.

In the final quarter, the Clippers were able to take the lead from the Jazz as Utah’s offense stagnated for a while. Reggie Jackson hit back-to-back threes, giving Los Angeles the lead. However, Utah’s Joe Ingles starred in the final quarter as he helped facilitate a game-ending 9-0 run that sealed the win for Utah.

Ingles and Clarkson finished each with 19 and 24 points respectively in the Jazz win.

Following Thursday’s win, Utah has a 2-0 series lead. So far, Mitchell is averaging 41.0 points on 52.5% shooting against the Clippers.

“I don’t feel like I have to go out there and do everything,” Mitchell said. “I think that’s a credit to my teammates, credit to the guys that we have on this team. They can go out there and make plays… I don’t feel like I have to go up there, walk it up, do everything. There are times where I will have to do that. That’s just part of my job, but for me, it’s great to have a group of guys that trust you and you trust. You just go out there and play and have fun.”

Jordan Clarkson of the Utah Jazz has been named the Sixth Man of the Year for the 2020-21 NBA season. This award is only given to players who did not start in the majority of games that they played in. The 6’4 guard averaged a personal high of 18.4 points, 4 rebounds and 2.5 assists while playing 26.7 minutes per game through 68 games. Clarkson also sunk 203 three-pointers in total, which is the fourth-most in NBA history for a bench player.

Clarkson received 65 first-place votes, winning out over Derrick Rose of the New York Knicks and his own teammate Joe Ingles. Ingles was second in voting, receiving 34 first-place votes while Rose finished with one first-place vote. This marks the first time two teammates have finished first and second in voting for this award. A variety of sports media professionals were responsible for the voting.

Ingles presented Clarkson with the award during an interview on TNT with Ernie Johnson.  After Johnson posed several historical questions about the Sixth Man of the Year award, he asked them how many Jazz players had won the award. Clarkson said that zero had, which would have been true before this year. Ingles then presented the trophy to Clarkson.  “Thanks for passing me this ball, man,” said a joyful Clarkson. “He stole it from me,” Ingles said jokingly  “I should’ve stopped passing him the ball.”.

“I tried to get him the ball as much as possible so he could win Sixth Man of the Year,” Ingles elaborated. He also praised Clarkson for taking pride in his role coming off the bench.

Utah looks to a matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies, after dropping their first contest against the eight seed on Sunday. This occurred as Donovan Mitchell was inactive for the game due to an ankle sprain.

Clarkson was appreciative of the award but made it clear he was looking for a championship, stating that the team has “bigger goals ahead”.