The United States men’s basketball team dominated Brazil on Tuesday, 122-87, and is heading to the semifinals of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The U.S. used a balanced attack to take down Brazil, with a total of six players finishing in double figures. Devin Booker led the way with 18 points, while Joel Embiid finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. LeBron James had 12 points, nine assists, and three steals, while Anthony Edwards led the scoring off the bench with 17 points. Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant rounded out the double-digit scorers for the United States. Brazil’s Bruno Caboclo led all scorers with 30 points.
The United States now needs two more wins to secure their fifth consecutive gold medal in men’s basketball.
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The U.S. dominated the game from the get-go. Brazil was able to keep things close for the first couple of minutes before the U.S. took over and never looked back.
The United States’ largest lead in the first quarter was 16. At the end of the first quarter, the U.S. had a 33-21 lead, thanks to a nine-point performance from Booker and an eight-point performance by Embiid.
The United States extended their lead to 19 in the second quarter before Brazil went on a 10-0 run. Brazil was able to cut the U.S. lead to eight, before the Americans took off, closing the second quarter on a 21-2 run. At halftime, Embiid led the way with 15 points while James had 10 points. The Americans shot 59 percent from the field and had an impressive five blocks and five steals.
Brazil was never able to get back into the game. The United States played incredible team basketball and held a lead of at least 20 points for the entire second half.
In the end, the Americans shot 57.7 percent from the field and 48.4 percent from deep. They out-rebounded Brazil by 12 and had six blocks to Brazil’s 0.
Kevin Durant Makes USA Olympics History
In the third quarter, Durant officially became the all-time leading scorer in men’s and women’s USA Olympic history. He surpassed Lisa Leslie’s mark of 488 points with a dunk to give the U.S. an 86-59 lead.
He will continue to extend his lead in the category during the remaining two games of the tournament.
Team USA Basketball Schedule
The United States will face Serbia for the third time in the last three weeks in the semifinal matchup. The U.S. beat Serbia in exhibition play in dominant 105-79 fashion. Then, in the opening game of the Olympics, the U.S. took down Serbia, 110-84.
The semifinal matchup will be on Thursday, August 8. The winner of that matchup will face the winner of the France vs. Germany matchup for the gold medal.
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