Devin Booker, Kevin Durant near 2024 Team USA tip off; Deandre Ayton has big day

Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and the US Olympic men's basketball team are inching closer to game action, scheduled to face Canada next week in Las Vegas in the USA Basketball Showcase.

Tip off is at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday on FS1.

Team USA, which qualified for the games at the 2023 FIBA World Cup last September, begins its Olympic slate at 8:15 a.m. (Arizona time) Sunday, July 28, against Serbia.

2024 Paris Olympics: Tracking Arizona athletes who have qualified

Meanwhile, more elite NBA matchups played out Saturday, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece eliminating Luka Doncic and Slovenia from the 2024 Paris Olympics with a 96-68 drubbing in the qualifying tournament.

Antetokounmpo had 13 points in just 21 minutes while his team rode the back of Greek Basketball League star Thomas Walkup, who had 19 points in the win.

It was the first international meeting for Antetokounmpo and Doncic, who had 21 points in the loss.

Deandre Ayton and the Bahamas are also on the verge of punching a ticket to Paris after an 89-72 win over Lebanon in the tournament semifinals.

Ayton, the former Suns center, had 24 points and 15 rebounds in the win, continuing his rising form as an international player. He is averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds in three games.

The big man is part of a quality Bahamas roster that includes former Suns guard Eric Gordon, swingman Buddy Hield and dynamic Baylor freshman-to-be V.J. Edgecombe. They are coached by Golden State assistant Chris Demarco.

Greece faces Croatia while the Bahamas squares off with a hard-charging Spain team in their respective finals midday Sunday. Games can be streamed courtside1891.basketball.

Greece is now just one win away from an Olympic berth, which would be a first for Antetokounmpo.

A Bahamian victory would give the island commonwealth its first Olympic basketball national berth.