Paris Olympic 2024: USA Cruises into Basketball Semifinals With Victory Over Brazil 122-87
Paris Olympic 2024 Showdown: With a commanding performance, the US men’s basketball team defeated Brazil 122-87 to guarantee their place in the Olympic semifinals in Paris.
With their current record of 4-0, the U.S. team will play Serbia (3-1) on Thursday, while Germany (4-0) will play France (3-1) in the other semifinal. On Saturday night, the winners will compete for the gold medal, and on Saturday morning, the losers will compete for the bronze.
In the first three men’s basketball quarterfinals at the Olympic Games in Paris, all of the favorite teams experienced issues. France defeated Canada. Serbia defeated Australia by overturning a 24-point deficit. Germany needed to overcome a double-digit deficit in order to defeat Greece.
The United States knew what it had to do going into the night’s fourth and final game. U.S. coach Steve Kerr said, “We wanted to come out and make sure we were the aggressor.”
They also made it appear simple. With a balanced front highlighted by 18 points from Devin Booker, the Americans defeated Brazil 122-87 on Tuesday in the Olympic quarterfinals in Paris.
In the semifinals on Thursday, the United States (4-0) will play Serbia (3-1) while Germany (4-0) will play France (3-1) in the other match. The winners of those games will compete for the gold medal on Saturday night, while the losers from Thursday’s games will compete for the bronze on Saturday morning.
“We’re expected to win by everyone,” American forward Jayson Tatum stated. However, you don’t consider anything to be given, do you? Canada had previously lost. The game is different. It isn’t a series like in the playoffs. We have one game, and a lot of things, especially over here, can happen in one game.
If there was a problem, it was this: while attempting to grab a rebound, Brazil’s Georginho de Paula elbowed LeBron James in the left eye, causing him to leave the game in the third quarter. Later in the third, James went down, finally covered his eye with a towel, and headed for the locker room area. Kerr stated that James required four sutures.
“I’m fine,” James affirmed. “I got struck in the eye by an accidental elbow.”
Joel Embiid, who was jeered in France once more, finished the first half with 14 points and seven rebounds for the Americans, while Anthony Edwards scored 17 points. For the United States, Anthony Davis finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds. James finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds.
After Kevin Durant scored 11 points, he overtook Lisa Leslie as the American record holder for both men’s and women’s Olympic scoring. Leslie finished each of her four Olympic games with a gold medal, totaling 488 points. Durant is attempting to win two games in order to complete a four-game winning streak in the gold category as well.
“He is amazing. He’s really amazing; he was made to play ball,” James remarked. “I’m glad for him. I’m happy for him. I’m quite happy for him. He still has farther to go.
Brazil may have believed it had a chance at one point. Halfway through the second quarter, it was only eight behind the United States. A significant deficit had become something more tolerable. The moment did not last long.
Things went into their typical blowout form during a 21-2 run that lasted for the last 3:56 of the half. The U.S. converted that eight-point lead into a 63-36 lead heading into the last 20 minutes, dispelling whatever uncertainty that may have existed—let’s be honest, there wasn’t much, if any.
Brazil’s star player, Bruno Caboclo, led all scorers with thirty points. Playing in Paris for the first time during these Games, the attendance was less (the arena for the three group stage games is almost twice as large as the arena for the knockout stage), but considering the importance of the match, there was undoubtedly a more star-studded crowd.
Former American basketball player Carmelo Anthony was present, sitting in VIP areas close to the floor with his son Kiyan. The American women’s tennis player A’ja Wilson was seated next to Snoop Dogg, who has taken on the role of unofficial Team USA spokesman during these Olympics.
For the show, they came. They were given one. That was much the entire game as James led the charge at the half. Paige Bueckers, a prominent player for UConn women’s basketball, said, “Bron just out there throwing dimes,” on X, a website that was once known as Twitter, and she wasn’t incorrect. He finished the half with a clean 10 points, 8 assists, and a perfect 4 for 4 from the field and the foul line.
With almost three minutes remaining in the match, James departed the field after receiving treatment for the blow to the face. And the Paris audience let forth a yell.
Possibly because James was doing well. It could have been because Leon Marchand, the four-time gold medallist from the French Olympic swimming team, was also displayed on the scoreboard at that exact moment.
In any case, they had cause for celebration. Booker declared, “These are the medal games now.” “We need to step it up a notch.
