USA men’s basketball cruised into the semifinals of the medal round at the Olympics on Tuesday with a dominant 122-87 win over Brazil in Paris. The Americans built a double-digit lead in the first quarter and were not seriously threatened for the 40-minute contest against an overmatched Brazil squad.
Brazil used an 8-2 run at the start of the second quarter to stay within striking distance but the Americans landed a knockout punch from there, putting the game away for good with a 21-2 run to close out the frame, giving USA a 27-point lead at halftime. Brazil failed to muster any sort of comeback after that, allowing USA to secure a spot in the semifinals easily against Serbia on Thursday.
Devin Booker led the way for the Americans with 18 points while Joel Embiid had his best performance of the Olympics with 14 points in just 12 first half minutes before getting the second half off. Former NBA player Bruno Caboclo led Brazil with a game-high 30 points as they were eliminated from medal contention.
USA’s win sets up a final four of Serbia, France and Germany with the Americans still looming as heavy favorites to repeat as gold medalists within that group.
Here are four takeaways from USA’s win over Brazil on Tuesday:
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Jrue Holiday returns from ankle injury and reclaims his starting spot: The Celtics guard sat out Saturday’s win over Puerto Rico after tweaking his ankle against Serbia. With a few extra days off, the veteran looked like himself on both ends of the floor as Steve Kerr went back to his original starting five of the Olympic for the knockout round matchup. Holiday finished with nine points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field while dishing out three assists in 16 minutes. However, it was his defense that once again stood out among his All-Star teammates as he constantly harassed Brazil guards well on the perimeter and had a team-high two blocks while holding his own in the post against mismatches. The blowout win helped Kerr keep his minutes down which could be important with a quick turnaround looming against Serbia on Thursday.
Jayson Tatum earns more minutes with his defense: The All-Star forward originally looked like the odd man out of Steve Kerr’s rotation yet again after he was not one of the first 10 players to see action for Team USA on Tuesday. However, Tatum got the call early in the second quarter and immediately made an impact with a block on a 3-point attempt by Vitor Benite on his first defensive possession, forcing a Brazil 24-second violation. Tatum played the final eight minutes of the second quarter after that start, helping USA play their best defensive quarter of the game, limiting Brazil to just 15 total points in the period. His offensive struggles continue in Paris in an unfamiliar role (five points, 1-of-5 FG) but Tatum’s versatility was on full display in the victory, showing Kerr he can still make a big impact without having his shots fall.
Celtics have a block party: All three Olympic Celtics haven’t had a chance to play together much in Paris but they may be part of the best defensive lineup Kerr has during this tournament. Derrick White, Holiday and Tatum had USA’s first four blocks of the game and combined for five of USA’s seven blocks overall. Holiday and White tied for the team lead with two blocks each, showing exactly why Boston’s backcourt duo is on this roster.
A familiar face looms in semifinals: USA handled Nikola Jokic and Serbia with ease during their opening game in pool play as Jayson Tatum was handed a DNP-CD. It will be interesting to see how minutes are handled for the semifinal matchup after Embiid put together one of his best games of the tournament and Tatum played terrific defensively against Brazil. It’s hard to imagine anyone else gets bumped out of Steve Kerr’s rotation with White and Holiday being rock solid so far during the Olympics but Tatum could be another wildcard option in the matchup as he tries to make his mark in USA’s quest to win gold yet again.
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Publish date : 2024-08-06 10:14:00
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