PARIS — Most of the Olympic men’s basketball quarterfinals were stressful for the favorites, with the top seeds in the first three games falling behind by double digits and one (Canada) going down in an upset.
Team USA? Not so much.
The Americans routed Brazil on Tuesday night at Bercy Arena, 122-87, to advance to a semifinal on Thursday against Serbia. Devin Booker was the United States’ leading scorer with 18 points and five 3s on a night when contributions were coming from all corners.
Joel Embiid, clearly no longer bothered by whatever the French fans have to say to him, or about him, played his best game for Team USA this summer with 14 points and seven rebounds on 5-of-6 shooting, all in the first half.
Kevin Durant passed Lisa Leslie (488 points) for the most points at the Olympics by any USA Basketball player, male or female. The record-breaking dunk for Durant, who is trying to become the first men’s player to win four Olympic golds in basketball, came with 2:36 left in the third quarter and the Americans up 29. Durant finished with 11 points and four rebounds in 21 minutes.
489+ points in his #Olympics career 🇺🇸
Kevin Durant has passed Lisa Leslie to become @usabasketball’s all-time leading scorer at the Olympics for both the men’s and women’s programs.@KDTrey5 | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/x4tAAwpxhl
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) August 6, 2024
LeBron James was again a ferocious and intimidating mismatch for his opponents. He finished with 12 points and nine assists and three steals, including an absurd, Patrick Mahomes-like pass to Jayson Tatum for an alley-oop at the end of the first half. There certainly isn’t anyone else playing at the Olympics who could throw that pass. Tatum was basically covered but the angle and timing of the throw allowed Tatum to catch it and dunk it over a defender for a 63-36 lead. James’ night was cut short when he was elbowed in the face in the third quarter by Brazil’s Georginho De Paula.
Otherwise, this was as smooth of a game as the U.S. has played all summer. Brazil was never truly close, getting blitzed by an American team looking for its first fast start at the Olympics. The U.S. was ahead by 10 after four minutes and by 12 at the end of the first quarter and was shooting 59 percent at halftime. The huge deficits that plagued Germany and Serbia in narrow wins, and sunk Canada against France, were simply not a concern while the Americans were on the court.
Former NBA player Bruno Caboclo led Brazil with 24 points.
Embiid’s summer has not been what NBA fans perhaps expected, as the former MVP has dealt with inconsistencies and a benching at the Olympics. But the Americans need him Thursday against Serbia, and, if all goes according to their plans, in a final against Germany or France — all of them have the kind of size that has historically bothered otherwise deep, NBA-talent-laden U.S. rosters.
The boos cascaded down from the rafters – doesn’t matter whether Embiid is playing just outside of Lille, or in Paris — and Embiid (and teammates) relished returning the taunts. Embiid converted all three of his 3s, and with a chance to convert an and-1, gestured repeatedly toward the crowd by pounding his hands against his hips.
Anthony Davis contributed 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Breaking with his norm, U.S. coach Steve Kerr played 11 players in the first half, using Tatum as a sixth sub, peeling minutes from Anthony Edwards and Booker as Kerr took looks at different lineups.
Earlier Tuesday, Serbia recovered from a 24-point deficit to beat Australia, 95-90, in overtime of an absolute barnburner. Nikola Jokić starred with 21 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists for Serbia; Patty Mills scored 26 points with a shot that momentarily saved Australia and sent the game to overtime.
The Americans have beaten Serbia comfortably twice this summer. When the U.S. blasted Serbia 105-79 on July 17 in Abu Dhabi, the Serbians had played Australia the night before and Bogdan Bogdanovic didn’t play against the Americans. The U.S. made 16 3s and Curry enjoyed what turned out to be easily his best game this summer with 24 points. That game was tied at 40 midway through the second quarter.
In the second game between the two, which was the Olympic opener for both clubs, the U.S. again won handily, 110-84, behind 23 points from Durant in his 2024 USA debut. But it was a tense first half marked by the Serbians’ relentless ball pressure, which the Americans struggled to handle. The Americans pulled away with 18 3s in that one.
Do they have another big game in store for Serbia?
This story will be updated.
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(Photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
