Tuesday’s four game swill decide which teams will play for medals
France, Germany, Serbia, USA advance to Olympic semifinals
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Germany came from behind to beat Greece 76-63 on Tuesday at Bercy Arena in Paris to advance to the semifinals of the Olympic Games. After trailing by 10 after one quarter, Germany came back to tie the game by halftime and pulled away for good late in the third quarter. This marks the first time that Germany, the 2023 Basketball World Cup champion, has reached the semifinals at the Olympics.
Franz Wagner led the German attack with 18 points, Dennis Schroder tallied 13 points and 8 assists, Johannes Thiemann added 10 points and 6 rebounds and Isaac Bonga had 9 points and 6 boards. Former NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo paced Greece with 22 points, Thomas Walkup scored 12 and his Olympiacos Piraeus teammate Kostas Papanikolaou 10.
Greece took control from the start with Konstantinos Mitoglou of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens and Antetokounmpo each scoring twice in 2-10 run. A Nick Calathes-to-Antetokounmpo alley-oop made it 4-16 before Thiemann and Schroder got the German attack going and it was 11-21 at the end of the first quarter. FC Bayern Munich’s Nick Weiler-Babb stepped up for Germany early in the second quarter to twice rally his side within 5. A three-pointer by Johannes Voigtmann and a layup by Schroder made it 32-33. Walkup answered for Greece, but a Daniel Theis alley-oop dunk left the score square, 36-36, at the break.
Schroder made a three to give Germany’s its first lead of the game early in the second half. Back-to-back triples by Walkup and Papanikolaou put Greece back on top. Franz Wagner scored 5 points in an 8-0 Germany run to make it 50-47. Thiemann provided a spark with a put-back slam, then he drew an offensive foul and then dunked on the break to keep Germany ahead, 54-50. Bonga’s three-pointer on the third-quarter buzzer put 59-52 on the scoreboard. Franz Wagner lifted Germany’s advantage to 9, but Antetokounmpo kept Greece in the hunt. Franz Wagner remained strong and the Greek offense fizzled as Germany held on for the win.
Serbia outlasts Australia in overtime thriller
Serbia rallied back from a 24-point deficit to beat Australia 95-90 after overtime. Riding the hot hand of Patty Milles, the Boomers roared to a 20-44 lead in the second quarter and led by 12 at halftime, but Serbia came back in the third and held on in overtime.
Nikola Jokic produced another fantastic effort with 21 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals to lead the winners. Two-time EuroLeague Rising Star Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 17 points and dished 6 assists, Former EuroLeague MVP Vasa Micic played a big role in the comeback with 14 points and 6 dimes and Marko Guduric of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and Ognjen Dobric of Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade added 11 points apiece. Mills finished with 26 points for Australia and Josh Giddey scored 25 in defeat.
Serbia scored the game's first 4 points, but soon Giddey assumed control for Australia with 6 points and an assist to take an 8-12 lead. Serbia turned to Jokic, who scored on three straight possessions, but Australia’s offense continued to generate points through Mills, who scored 10 points in a 0-12 run for a 17-31 lead at the end of the opening quarter. The red-hot Mills then scored the first two baskets of the second quarter. When Duop Reath dunked on the break, the Boomers led by 20. The margin reached 20-44 on a triple by Reath. Jokic helped revive Serbia to get within 16 before Mills came off the bench to score again. Guduric heated up with a layup, a steal and a triple to make it 37-48. Exum and Giddey helped Australia regain control before Guduric closed the gap to 42-54 at halftime.
The teams traded baskets in the early part of the third quarter before Serbia got threes from Ognjen and Bogdanovic to narrow the gap to 4, which prompted an Australia timeout. After the stop, Aleksa Avramovic forced a turnover and Dobric buried another three. A Bogdanovic jumper completed the comeback at 61-60, capping a 10-0 run. Avramovic committed an unsportsmanlike foul on his former Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade teammate Exum, who tied the score at 65-65. Jokic free throws made it 67-65 entering the fourth quarter. Micic made a pair of assists and a layup as Serbia stretched the lead to 73-67. Jock Landale brought Australia within 1, but Micic kept Serbia ahead. Giddey evened the score, 78-78, with a three from the corner with 3 minutes remaining. Micic sank 3 free throws to put Serbia in front and added another for a 2-point lead with 9.8 seconds remaining. Mills tied it with a jumper with 1.4 seconds left to force overtime.
Dobric opened the scoring in the extra session with a three-pointer and Jack McVeigh matched him. Then Duop gave Australia the lead before Bogdanovic tied it. Jokic put Serbia up 91-90 with a minute left. His jumper with 25.1 seconds remaining gave Serbia a 3-point edge and Bogdanovic iced the game from the line.
Cordiner, Yabusele shine as France roars past Canada
France took charge early, led by as many as 19, and held on when Canada rallied late to secure an 82-73 victory that sent it into the semifinals. Isaia Cordinier of Virtus Segafredo Bologna and Real Madrid’s Guerschon Yabusele combined for more than half the team’s points to lead France in front of a passionate home crowd.
Yabusele finished with 22 points, Cordinier netted 20 on 4-of-5 three-point shooting, Evan Fournier scored 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, EuroLeague champion Mathias Lessort of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens scored 13 and Victor Wembanyama contributed 12 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. For Canada, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 and R.J. Barrett added 16.
Cordinier scored 10 points in the first three-and-a-half minutes, including back-to-back three-pointers to give France a 13-5 lead. Yabusele heated up to extend the lead to 14 points. Jamal Muray and Nickeil Alexander-Walker tried to spark the Canadians, but Lessort left France with a 23-20 lead after one quarter. A three-pointer by Fournier gave France a 16-point lead. Gilgeous-Alexander took charge of the Canada attack to trim the deficit to 34-25, but a three by Cordinier and free throws by Lessort and Partizan's Frank Ntilikina extended the French lead to 42-27. Yabusele sank a three to match France’s largest lead of the half, 45-29, at the intermission.
Cordinier drilled his fourth three-pointer of the night at the onset of the second half to the delight of the Paris crowd. Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort tried to provide a spark, with the former closing the gap to 50-39. Yabusele kept the home side scoring, but Canada was threatening. A put-back by Khem Birch narrowed the gap to 56-49. Cordinier and Victor Wembanyama came to the rescue and France led 61-50 at the end of the third quarter. Canada scored the first 5 points of the fourth quarter to put pressure on France. Free throws by Cordinier and a layup by Yabusele restored a double-digit lead and resulted in a Canada timeout. In just 2 minutes, Canada halved the deficit to 65-60 and France called timeout. Fournier came through with a clutch three-pointer and a floater soon after to make it 71-62. Dort got Canada back within 5 only to see Fournier put the game away with free throws and a nine-meter three-pointer.
USA rolls past Brazil
The United States of America blasted Brazil 87-122 in Tuesday’s last game to remain unbeaten in Paris. Devin Booker led six American scorers in double figures with 18 points, Anthony Edwards scored 17 and LeBron James contributed 12 points and 9 assists. Partizan’s Bruno Caboclo paced Brazil with 30 points and ratiopharm Ulm’s Georginho De Paula added 15 points and 8 rebounds.
Baskets by Gui Santos and Caboclo gave Brazil an early 4-2 lead, but James and Stephen Curry quickly helped the Americans surge ahead. A three-pointer by Booker gave the USA their first double-digit lead, 6-16. Booker and Joel Embiid and kept the USA coasting and – despite 5 more points by Caboclo – the score was 21-33 after 10 minutes. Brazil was held scoreless for the first 4 minutes of the second quarter as the margin grew to 19. Didi Louzada set up Lucas Dias for a dunk and De Paula for a triple, which prompted an American timeout. Marcelinho Huertas pulled up for a three and then a jumper to cap a 10-0 Brazil run that made it 31-40. A three by Dias got Brazil within 8. Curry and Embiid put the USA back on track and James scored 6 points in a 0-15 run to close the half with a 36-63 cushion.
The teams traded baskets for the first few minutes of the second half. De Paula stepped up for Brazil to get within 51-74. However, the Americans continued to cruise even with free throws by De Paula making it 71-94 at the end of the third quarter. Kevin Durrant took the USA lead to 30 early in the fourth quarter and Brazil never mounted another serious comeback attempt.