Nikola Jokic was lost inside a circle of Serbian players that were saluting him after a monstrous stint in the overtime period as Serbia created enough separation to put down Australia. The Serbians survived the quarter-final against Australia despite going down 24 during the second half.
It was a crazy game of runs that Serbia went into before Australia answered back with a roaring buzzer beater from Patty Mills that sent the game to OT.
The Boomers started the game on fire, storming to an early double-digit lead, and hitting 19 of their first 24 shot attempts in the first half. Serbia appeared to be lost midway through the second quarter, with Australia already leading 44-20. Patty Mills was already at his best FIBA Patty gear and had 20 points in the first half.
Everything was going well for Australia before it wasn’t. The Serbia cut the deficit down to 52-42 at the break and made their move during the third quarter. Ognjen Dobric and Bogdan Bogdanovic made three straight triples to not only cut the gap, but give Serbia a 67-65 lead ahead of the final 10 minutes.
It was a back-and-forth battle that led to the overtime struggle between the two teams. Serbia’s defense and Nikola Jokic did the job in the extra time to give the Serbians a ticket to the semi-finals, where they will face USA again.
Serbia ended up with six men in double digits, led by Nikola Jokic’s 21 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists. Patty Mills poured his heart out for Australia with 26 points.
Hosts France pull up upset against Canada in Olympic Quarter-Finals
France struggled to remain competitive for the whole 40 minutes during the preliminary round, but they showed the right amount of grittiness and hustle to pull up an upset 83-72 win over the unbeaten Canadian national team.
France decided to go with a different look and started Cordinier and Yabusele who combined for 25 points for the France’s 45-29 lead at the half.
Canada stormed back, found some balance and cut the gap all the way down to 65-60 in the final quarter. Evan Fournier answered the call with seven straight points to keep Canada away and allow France to book a date with World Champions Germany in the semi-finals.
USA dominates Brazil as Durant tabs historic Olympic record
Kevin Durant AKA The Slim Reaper set a historical record for Team USA as his 11 points in USA’s 87-122 victory against Brazil were enough to make them the leading scorer in Team USA’s Olympic history. The Suns superstar surpassed Lisa Leslie’s 488 points.
USA never got troubled by Brazil during the night and cruised to a comfortable victory as LeBron James notched 10 points and 9 assists from the first half.
Devin Booker knocked down five threes to finish with 18 points, Anthony Edwards scored 17 and Anthony Davis had 13. For Brazil, Bruno Caboclo did his best with 30 points and 6 rebounds. Team USA will meet Serbia on Thursday, 8 August.
Men’s Olympic Basketball Tournament Semi-Finals set
TBD Germany vs France
TBD USA vs Serbia
