The United States, led by 18 points from Devin Booker and 17 from Anthony Edwards, defeated Brazil 122-87 on Tuesday to book an Olympic basketball semifinal against Nikola Jokic’s Serbia.
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James scored 12 points and dished out nine assists before leaving in the third quarter after taking an accidental elbow to the eye.
His departure didn’t slow down the American team, loaded with NBA talent, who put on a stream of top-notch reels to the delight of fans at Bercy Arena.
The U.S. went undefeated in the Olympic quarterfinals, but James said it was just a step toward the main mission.
“We understand what the main goal is, and the main goal is for us to win the gold,” James said. “That’s all I care about.
Cameroon-born Joel Embiid scored 14 points, making all three of his 3-point attempts and shrugging off boos from French fans who were still upset about his decision to play for the United States despite qualifying for the host side.
Anthony Davis added 13 points and Kevin Durant scored 11 as the United States continued its march toward its fifth straight Olympic title and 17th overall.
With the dunk late in the third quarter, Durant scored his sixth point of the contest and the 489th of his Olympic career.
This made him the most prolific scorer among American male and female basketball players at the Olympics, surpassing Lisa Leslie.
“Records are meant to be broken, so somebody’s going to come and do the same thing,” Durant said. “We’re just focused on trying to win this gold.
An energetic Brazil did what they could, cutting a 19-point deficit to eight midway through the second quarter with a spurt that included a dunk from Lucas Dias along with three points from Marcelinho Huertas and Dias.
But they fouled Stephen Curry on a 3-point attempt and he made all three free throws to put the USA back on fire.
James’ layup after a scramble under the basket gave the Americans a 50-36 lead and started a 13-0 run to end the first half, which was punctuated by a Jayson Tatum dunk.
Former first-round NBA draft pick Bruno Caboclo of Brazil led all scorers with 30 points, but the South Americans couldn’t make a dent in the second half.
The USA will now fight for a spot in the final against a battle-tested Serbian side. Jokic and company rallied from 24 points earlier on Tuesday to edge Australia 95-90.
The U.S. has beaten Serbia twice in recent weeks, in the tiebreaker and again in the group stage.
“Every game is its own test,” James said. “It doesn’t matter what happened in the first two, it’s about what happens on Thursday night. So we have to stop in for our film session tomorrow, lock in during the day on Thursday and then get out and be ready to go. .”
