What to watch on Day 13 of the 2021 Olympics: US beach volleyball, basketball

After a somewhat quiet day of the 2021 Olympics, it’s all hands on deck for the Americans as a number of major events heat up.

Beach volleyball, track and field and basketball are just a few of the many events in Day number lucky 13 of the Tokyo games.

Here are the major Olympic events that will take place on Thursday, Aug. 5:

Beach volleyball: 8:00 PM (Wednesday), NBC/Peacock

The American duo of Alix Klineman and April Ross are inching closer to Olympic gold. Wednesday night, they face Anouk Vergé-Dépré and Joana Heidrich in the semifinals, with a trip to the gold medal game on the line.

Klineman and Ross have been excellent throughout the tournament, losing only one set in four games. But they are America’s last chance for a gold medal in beach volleyball, after the men’s duo of Jake Gibb and Tri Bourne were eliminated by Germany. If the women win, they’ll face the winner of Australia and Latvia, on right after, in the gold medal match.

Track and field: 10:00 PM (Wednesday), NBC/Peacock

A late night trio of finals will grace the Olympic primetime broadcast, with some exciting heats sprinkled in. The men’s triple jump and shot put finals will start within five minutes of each other (10:00 and 10:05, respectively), with a pair of Americans (Will Claye and Donald Scott) competing for the triple jump gold and a trio (Payton Otterdahl, Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs) competing in shot put. Then, American Grant Holloway will look to defend his world championship in the 110-meter hurdles final (10:55 PM), with fellow countryman Devon Allen also in the field.

Early Thursday morning, the women’s pole vault (6:00 AM) will be decided, and American track superstar Allyson Felix will run in the women’s 4x400m heats (6:37 AM). Finally, the men’s 400-meter will conclude, with Michael Cherry and Michael Norman in the field.

Basketball: 12:15 AM, Peacock

Team USA will face Australia in the first of two Olympic semifinal matches on Thursday morning (12:15 AM). The Americans seem to be finding their groove, having defeated No. 2 ranked Spain 95-81 behind Kevin Durant’s 29 points. They have a tough matchup in Australia, led by NBA players in Joe Ingles, Patty Mills and Matisse Thybulle, but America is still the heavy favorite here.

Later in the morning, the winner will find out who they will face in the gold medal game (and the loser in the bronze) when France takes on Slovenia (7:00 AM). Mavericks star Luka Doncic has played spectacularly for Slovenia and has yet to lose a game in international play as a member of the team.

Baseball: 6:00 AM, USA Network

The Americans are firmly in the hunt for gold in the Olympics’ inaugural baseball tournament after fending off the Dominican Republic early Wednesday with a 3-1 victory. If they can defeat South Korea on Thursday morning, they will earn a trip to face Japan in the gold medal game. If they lose, they will face the DR again for bronze.

Twins prospect Joe Ryan will make the start for team USA in the crucial game, and the Americans will hope for more production from Triston Casas and Tyler Austin, who both homered Wednesday.

Skateboarding: 8:00 PM (Wednesday), CNBC

After last night’s women’s park final, in which two female skaters under 13 took home medals, it’s the men’s turn. The preliminary round will begin at 8:00 with four heats, followed by the final at 11:30.

American Zion Wright will be in contention for a medal, as will Brazil’s Luiz Francisco and Sweden’s Oskar Rozenberg.