USA vs Brazil recap: USA remains undefeated thanks to defense, fast break in 122-87 win

Steve Kerr has not messed with the basic formula that coach Mike Krzyzewski laid down with the 2008 Redeem Team: The USA has far more athleticism than any other team, so focus on defense, turn that into transition buckets the other way and no team in the world can keep up.

Brazil certainly couldn’t, which is why the USA advanced to the medal round with a 122-87 win on Tuesday.

For all the talk of Kevin Durant becoming USA Basketball’s all-time leading scorer (passing Lisa Leslie for the crown during this game), or LeBron James’ assists, or Devin Booker’s 18 points and pure shot, it’s the defense that won the USA this game and has been the foundation of their success in the Paris Olympics.

The USA forced 15 turnovers — LeBron led the way with three steals — and held Brazil under 40% shooting for almost the entire game (some garbage-time buckets got their percentage up in the final box score). That let the USA do their thing going the other way. Center Joel Embiid had 14 first-half points, but a couple of those buckets came on trail 3s after Brazil was left scrambling in transition. The USA was even running off makes, getting things like a Booker 3 plus the foul.

It was stops and fast-break buckets that had the USA closing out the first half on a 15-0 run Tuesday, a stretch that put the USA up 27 at the half and all but ended the game.

It may be tougher for the USA to execute that against a more disciplined — and, frankly, just better — Serbia team on Thursday, but the USA knows what the blueprint is.

The USA will face Nikola Jokic and Serbia for the third time in a month (the USA won the first two by a combined 52 points), but this time with a chance to play for gold on the line.

The USA vs. Serbia semifinal is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 8, at 3 PM ET.

You can stream that game on Peacock. Earlier in that day (11:30 AM ET) Germany will face host France in the other semifinal.

It’s over. Officially. It’s felt over since about halftime.

The USA beats Brazil 122-87 to advance the medal rounds of the Paris Olympics, where it will face Nikola Jokic and Serbia for a chance to play for the gold.

Devin Booker led the USA with 18 points, Anthony Edwards came on late to add 17, while Joel Embiid scored all of his 14 in a dominant first half. LeBron James finished with 12 points, nine assists and three boards. Anthony Davis added 13 with eight rebounds.

Former Raptor (and Rocket, King and and Grizzlies) Bruno Caboclo led Brazil with 30 but the Brazilians struggled to score efficiently — or slow the American attack. The USA forced turnovers (15) and got stops then got out in transition, and that was the ballgame.

This was the most concerning thing the USA has faced on Tuesday: LeBron James — who has been the USA MVP through the Olympics — went to the locker room in the third quarter Tuesday after getting an incidental elbow to the face from Brazil.

LeBron returned and the USA is cruising, up 117-85 late. The USA ran away with this one and has never looked back. Time to start looking ahead to a showdown in the medal round with Serbia, a rematch of the first group-play game for the USA.

The USA took total control of this Paris Olympics quarterfinal game with a 15-0 run to close the first half and it has not looked back.

The USA leads 98-71 with eight minutes left in this game and the only question remaining is how many points the USA finishes with.

Devin Booker leads the USA with 18, Joel Embiid has 14 (all in the first half), Anthony Davis 13, and LeBron has 12 points and nine assists.

Kevin Durant is now USA Basketball’s all-time leading scorer, passing the legendary Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie for the crown.

Paris is Durant’s fourth Olympics. KD is a pure hooper — he loves the game and being challenged at the highest level. USA Basketball gives him that, in the practices against guys like LeBron or Jayson Tatum, plus on the international stage. He’s talked about loving to represent his nation as well.

The Olympics are everything Durant is about, and it shows.

Anthony Davis has been dominant defensively, but he now also has the offensive highlight of the game vs. Brazil.

That is nasty, AD.

This illustrates the depth of Team USA: Devin Booker scored nine points in the first quarter, then didn’t touch the court in the second (as the USA pulled away).

Booker was back out for the start of the third quarter, hit a couple more 3-pointers, and is up to 15 points and is 4-of-6 from 3. He now leads the USA in scoring.

The USA is up 79-53 midway through the third quarter. Brazil just cannot get consistent stops.

Stat of the day so far from USA vs. Brazil (courtesy Tim Reynolds of the AP):

The USA is +25 in the first half when LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Jrue Holiday are on the court together.

That trio has 33 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. To be fair, the USA is still +2 in the minutes that group has not played together, but Kerr found something that worked for this game and will stick with it.

It’s the beauty of USA Basketball — LeBron James is throwing lobs to Jayson Tatum.

That is a sideline out of bounds few teams in the world could stop.

The USA answered Brazil’s second-quarter run with a 15-0 run of their own and are in complete control of this one at the half, 63-36.

While the USA’s offense has been impressive, shooting 50% overall and 6-of-12 from 3 as a team, it’s the defense that has been the difference. The USA has forced 10 Brazilian turnovers and held them to 34% shooting, which has allowed the USA to get out and run. Nobody can stop the USA in the open court.

Embiid leads the USA in scoring with 14, including 3-of-3 from deep. LeBron James has 10 points and eight assists, while Devin Booker has nine (all in the first quarter). Stephen Curry has added 7 with a couple of 3s.

If the USA has 20 more minutes anywhere close to this, they will advance to the medal round (against Serbia).

LeBron James — at age 39 in his final Olympics — has been the NBA MVP. Probably the Olympics MVP.

He settled down the USA after Brazil’s run and has done it with his vision and IQ — LeBron has seven assists in the first half, several of those dimes to cutting players like Jrue Holiday and Stephen Curry.

Embiid leads the USA in scoring with 14 — including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc — and the USA is up by 19 again, 55-36, with less than two minutes in the first half.

We said it pregame (scroll down): If Brazil is going to beat the USA it’s because the Americans lose their focus and beat themselves.

Welcome to the second quarter, when some USA turnovers and Brazil 3-pointers led to a 10-0 run for the South Americans to turn the USA’s 19-point lead into a single-digit game again, currently 42-34.

This is win-or-go-home, the USA needs to take care of business. Now is the time for LeBron or someone to settle the USA down.

Brazil is being led by 41-year-old former Laker Marcelinho Huertas (nine points, three assists) and Lucas Dias (eight points).

Steve Kerr brings seven NBA All-Stars off his bench. That crazy depth — leaning into guys like Anthony Edwards and Anthony Davis — is just too much for teams.

It’s been too much for Brazil. Edwards, who leads the USA in scoring, has a quick five off the bench.

The USA leads 40-26, a lead that had been up to 19 before a couple of buckets by Brazil (and a timeout from Kerr).

Nothing makes a coach’s stomach turn like fouling a jump shooter at the arc — especially when that shooter is Devin Booker. The Suns star had the four-point play, a key reason he had nine to lead the USA in the first quarter.

The stat of the first quarter: The USA shot 62% and were 4-of-7 from 3 as a team.

It’s tough to beat that kind of offense which is why the USA leads 33-21 after one quarter of play in Paris. Devin Booker leads the way with nine points, including a four-point play. Joel Embiid has eight and that includes a couple of 3-pointers. LeBron James has four points and five assists in the first.

The USA has just been too athletic for the Brazilians, getting stops and then getting out and running. Not sure how Brazil can turn that around as the USA’s depth starts to take over.

Joel Embiid started against Brazil to provide rebounding and defense against a physical front line — he’s done that and more.

Embiid has a quick eight points including two 3-pointers, plus he’s grabbed three early rebounds and has been a force all over the court.

The USA leads 27-14 with three minutes left in the first quarter, and they are just going to their strength — the bench.

Team USA is far more athletic than Brazil and it has shown early with fast break buckets, cuts to the rim by Stephen Curry and LeBron James, and even a dunk from Jrue Holiday.

Throw in a Devin Booker transition 3 and the USA is off to an early 16-6 lead.

Brazil is going to rely on some players with NBA and heavy international experience to get the upset against the USA.

Brazil’s starting five:

• Marcelo Huertas
• Raul Neto
• Gui Santos
• Bruno Caboclo
• Leo Meindl

The keys for them will be 41-year-old former Laker Huertas and former Raptor Caboclo, both have to be huge for them to have a chance.

Steve Kerr has named Team USA’s starting five vs. Brazil and it’s the same as the Olympics opener against Serbia:

Stephen Curry, Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday, LeBron James, Joel Embiid

That’s a defensive and athletic starting five that will look to overwhelm Brazil from the opening tip.

USA Basketball has looked dominant through three games in Paris in large part due to its depth — Steve Kerr brings five NBA All-Stars off his bench every game.

All that talent keeps the USA players’ individual stats down a little compared to other nations, but it makes them tougher to beat. Still, let’s break down the Team USA stats through the group stage:

Points per game
1. Anthony Edwards 16.7
2. Kevin Durant 16
3. LeBron James 14.3

Rebounds per game
1. Jayson Tatum 7.5
2. Anthony Davis 7
3. LeBron James 6.7

Assists per game
1. LeBron James 7.3
2. Devin Booker 4.3
2. Stephen Curry 2.7

Field goal percentage
1. LeBron James 64.3%
2. Kevin Durant 63.6%
3. Anthony Edwards 63.3%

Canada expected to medal in Paris but is instead headed home without any hardware, upset by Victor Wembanyama and host France 82-73 on a night when the Canadians’ lack of shooting (23.8% from 3 on the night) and ball movement cost them.

Team Canada’s stars, as well as coach Jordi Fernandez, were brutally honest postgame about the lack of quality play around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Quotes via Arash Madani.

• Gilgeous-Alexander: “For the most part, we understood the assignment. Tonight we didn’t.”

• Gilgeous-Alexander: “They played better than us. They played harder than us... That’s what happens when you let teams get out to a good start.”

• Lu Dort: “We struggled executing our stuff. (France) made tough shots and we had to live with that.”

• Fernandez: “Offensively, I thought it was our most selfish game. We didn’t share the ball.”

• Fernandez: “We didn’t match their energy and physicality.”

All of them talked about being better in four years when the Olympics come to Los Angeles.

Could Brazil upset the USA?

Anything is possible. However, let’s be honest, the USA would need to beat themselves by looking past this game and to Serbia in the next round — something this veteran American team is unlikely to do.

Brazil excels at being physical inside and hitting the offensive glass — they average 13 offensive boards a game. The USA has had moments of weakness on the defensive glass up to this point, and they will need to focus on grabbing defensive boards. Brazil also excels at shooting from beyond the arc — it is hitting an Olympics-best 45.3% from 3 during the games.

If Brazil can find enough offense by hitting their 3s and grabbing the offensive boards on their misses, if leading scorer Vitor Benite and best player Bruno Caboclo (the former Raptor) can get hot, maybe Brazil can keep it close. Maybe.

France made the adjustment — four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert was benched (he played less than four minutes, in part due to a finger injury). Going up against a small and quick Canadian team, France didn’t want to be big and slow, so they put Victor Wembanyama in the paint by himself and leaned hard into former Celtic Guerschon Yabusele.

It worked. Brilliantly.

Yabusele finished with 22 points, former Hawks second-round pick Isaia Cordinier — starting in place of Evan Fournier — scored 20 and the French clogged up the Canadian offense and led wire-to-wire winning 82-73 and advancing to the medal round.

Evan Fournier had 15 off the bench for the host nation, which was playing in front of a packed and rockin’ house.

This is a brutal loss for a Canadian team that expected to medal in Paris. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was his MVP-level self and scored 27 but didn’t get enough help as the Canadian’s lack of shooting came back to bite them, hitting just 23.8% of their 3s in this one. Wembanyama and France turned this into a half-court game and Canada just did not have the spacing to make it work.

France will play Germany in the semi-finals.

Got to love this “choose your fighter” Mortal Kombat vibe preview from USA Basketball

Serbia entered the Olympics considered one of the biggest threats to the USA’s hoop dominance and chances to win a fourth straight gold. However, at points Tuesday it looked like they might not even make it to the medal round after Australia went on an 18-0 first-half run and led by 24 at one point in a knockout round showdown. New Chicago Bull Josh Giddey (25 points) led a deep Boomers team that seemed in control.

Then Nikola Jokic happened.

The three-time NBA MVP took charge and led a comeback, finishing with 21 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists as Serbia roared back to force overtime and ultimately win 95-90. They advance to the medal round, where they face the winner of the USA vs. Brazil game. FIBA Patty Mills remains something special for Australia, he had 18 points and hit the bucket that forced overtime.

Serbia has played the USA twice — once in an exhibition in Abu Dhabi and once in the first group stage game in the Olympics — and lost by 26 both times. Serbia has Jokic and Bogdan Bogdanovic (17 points, 6 assists vs. Australia) but the USA’s incredible depth has proven too much in both meetings. Serbia can hang close to the Americans when Jokic is on the court, but when he sits they struggle (something that may sound familiar to Denver fans).