Team USA advanced to the Gold Medal game in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and they await the winner of the France-Slovenia semifinal matchup. Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic has been the best player in the Olympics thus far, but Clippers forward Nicolas Batum and Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert were looking to shut his water off.

The Clippers and Mavs played a heated, seven-game series just two months ago that saw Luke Doncic put up astronomical numbers only to fall short in the end.

Ahead of the matchup, Batum was asked about defending Doncic and how he plans to help his team beat Slovenia and advance to the Gold Medal game.

Via RTV SLO<, translated from Slovenian/a>:

“We really had a lot of work to do with him,” Batum said. “He still achieved exceptional numbers, but we tried everything. Of course, I will try to take advantage of this experience, but now the story is different. The national team is different from the Clippers. I don’t know if it will be the same approach, but the experience is welcome, of course. But we are aware of what this match brings – the fight for gold.”

Of course, the biggest reason the Clippers were able to get Luka Doncic was Kawhi Leonard, who averaged 32.1 points 7.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists on an ultra-efficient 61.2 percent shooting from the field and 42.5 percent from beyond the arc.

Behind Leonard, the Clippers were able to come back from both a 2-0 deficit and a 3-2 deficit to advance to the second round. If Batum could have it his way, he'd have brought Kawhi Leonard with him to Tokyo and made him a part of the French National team.

“If I could, I would bring Kawhi Leonard to cover him, but unfortunately he is not French,' Batum joked.

Through four tournament games so far, Luka Doncic is averaging 26.3 points (1st among all players), 10.0 rebounds (2nd among all players), and 8.0 assists (2nd among all players) per game.

“Slovenia is the European champion for a reason,” Batum added. “As far as I know, Luka is still undefeated in the jersey of the chosen type, which is exceptional. He really shines in this tournament, but we are aware that it is not just about him, even though he is one of the best basketball players in the world. His teammates complement him tremendously. Of course, Dončić is the main danger, but we must not forget the others.

“Just look at how Zoran Dragić played in the quarterfinals. Mike Tobey has proven how great a reinforcement he is for this team. Klemen Prepelič showed a lot and so on. We are aware that a difficult task awaits us. However, this is the semi-finals of the Olympic Games.”

The Gold Medal Game is scheduled for Friday night with the Bronze Medal game scheduled for early Saturday morning.