Brazil had a fleeting moment of hope when it trailed the U.S. by only eight points midway through the second quarter. The significant deficit had been reduced to a manageable level.
However, this hope was short-lived.
A 21-2 run by the U.S. shifted the game back to a blowout, leading to a 122-87 victory in the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics on Tuesday night. This win secured the U.S. a spot in the semi-finals for the 20th time in 20 Olympic appearances. Devin Booker led the U.S. with 18 points.
The U.S. (4-0) will face Serbia (3-1) in the semi-finals on Thursday, while Germany (4-0) will play France (3-1) in the other semi-final. Winners will compete for the gold medal on Saturday night, and the losers will play for the bronze medal on Saturday morning.
An issue arose when LeBron James left in the third quarter after an elbow to his left eye from Brazil’s Georginho de Paula during a rebound attempt. James left for the locker room with a towel over his eye.
By that time, the game was well in hand. The U.S. turned an eight-point lead into a 63-36 runaway going into the final 20 minutes, eliminating any remaining doubt.
Bruno Caboclo led all scorers with 30 points for Brazil.
For the U.S., Anthony Edwards scored 17 points, Joel Embiid had 14 points and seven rebounds in 12 first-half minutes, Anthony Davis added 13 points and eight rebounds, and James contributed 12 points and nine assists. Kevin Durant scored 11 points and surpassed Lisa Leslie as the U.S. Olympic career scoring leader, men’s or women’s, with 489 points.
Playing in Paris for the first time during these Games, the crowd was smaller compared to the group stage arena but seemed more star-studded due to the higher stakes.
Notable attendees included retired U.S. Olympic basketball star Carmelo Anthony and his son Kiyan, seated next to Pau Gasol, as well as U.S. women’s star A’ja Wilson and Snoop Dogg. James led a surge at the end of the half, solidifying the game.
“Bron just out there throwing dimes,” UConn women’s star Paige Bueckers commented on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
James returned to the bench with about three minutes left in the game after receiving treatment for the shot to the face, drawing a roar from the Paris crowd. This reaction coincided with French Olympic swimming star Leon Marchand, a four-time gold medalist at these Games, being shown on the scoreboard.
