VILLENEUVE-D'ASCQ, France — The Lille Olympique went largely according to plan for the U.S. team.
We had a few defensive blunders, a slight injury here and then had to take the bus once or twice last weekend because someone set fire to the train tracks, which disrupted train schedules between Paris and Lille on the Belgian border.
But otherwise, America's star team is right where it should be, sprinting towards a fifth consecutive gold medal as the tournament moves to Paris for the finals.
Anthony Edwards' 26 points led the U.S. team to a 104-83 victory over Puerto Rico on Saturday, finishing with a 3-0 record in pool play and the No. 1 overall seed for the Olympic quarterfinals.
The U.S. finished in first place in pool play, winning three games by 64 or more points, and will face Brazil in the Olympic quarterfinals on Tuesday at Accor Arena, the arena where NBA games are usually held in Paris.
“First of all, it was a lot of fun to be in Lille. Lille is a beautiful place,” said U.S. team coach Steve Kerr. “I think we accomplished what we wanted to do, winning all three matches and securing the top seed. We know we have to play better. Of course, in this tournament it gets harder as the matches go on, and our goal is to play better in each match. We have a day off tomorrow, then a one-week sprint to play three matches, so we'll see how it goes.”
Brazil went 1-2 and lost to France and Germany by double-digit margins, but beat Japan by 18 points, making 17 3-pointers, to advance to the quarterfinals. Germany and Canada also went 3-0 in pool play, with Germany ranked second behind the United States.
“We've met almost everyone, but we haven't met Brazil yet,” Carr said. “Brazil is our focus.”
The first half of the men's and women's tournaments were moved to an outdoor soccer stadium with a retractable roof outside Lille so that gymnastics could take place primarily at the Accor Arena. The U.S. stayed in Paris to train but traveled to Lille on the eve of their three matches, where they also won comfortably against Serbia and South Sudan.
Edwards, the youngest player on Team USA at 22 years old, came off the bench to shoot 11 of 15 from the field to go with three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Edwards, who was the USA's leading scorer at last summer's World Cup, was a flashy player with a drive to the basket, a mid-range jump shot and three 3-pointers. The coolest play was a tap-away steal and windmill slam with about nine minutes left and the USA leading by 25.
Anthony Edwards launches WINDMILL in Paris! 🔥 #ParisOlympics
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— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 3, 2024
“I wanted to dunk between my legs (in the air) but I hadn't tried it in a while so I didn't want to embarrass myself,” Edwards said. “I want to dunk on somebody but I don't have the lane yet. I'm glad I did it.”
LeBron James was as flawless as ever in this tournament, scoring 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds in just 18 minutes. Kevin Durant had 11 points but needs four more to become USA Basketball's all-time leading scorer in an Olympic game for both the men's and women's programs, surpassing Lisa Leslie (488 career points).
Edwards' dominance in the second half (he scored 14 points from late in the third quarter through the middle of the fourth quarter while Durant was on the court) may have had something to do with Durant falling just short of overtaking Leslie.
Joel Embiid returned to the US starting lineup after missing the South Sudan game. He had 15 points and three rebounds in about 23 minutes. In a confusing turn of events, the French crowd continued to boo him every time he touched the ball, but when he made a shot or blocked a shot, the entire crowd erupted in applause. There were US fans in the stadium, of course, but the applause was so loud that at least some of the people who were booing him for choosing the US team over France in the Olympics must have cheered when he scored a goal.
“I think we have to laugh about it and he's taking it lightly and doing well,” Kerr said. “Obviously his teammates are cheering for him but that's all part of this. I'm sure he knew this was coming and it was good to hear the American fans cheering after the French fans booing and everyone seemed to be having fun.”
With the U.S. leading by an insurmountable margin and time running out, Embiid tried to hold the ball until the clock expired but was met with another chorus of boos. He put his hands over his ears as if hoping the boos would get louder. In the past two games, Embiid's U.S. teammates have joined in jeering the crowd in response to the boos.
“I love it,” Edwards said, “I'm all for it because I don't know what's going on.”
Jrue Holiday sat out because of an ankle injury he suffered in Wednesday's win, but Kerr said Holiday played in Brazil and may be available Saturday. Jayson Tatum started in Holiday's place and scored 10 points.
Jose Alvarado of the New Orleans Pelicans, the only NBA player on Puerto Rico's roster, led the team with 18 points. Despite being noticeably inferior in size and post skill, Puerto Rico outrebounded the U.S., 51 to 48. While the U.S.'s 11 turnovers are not bad by U.S. standards, allowing Puerto Rico 18 offensive rebounds is something they should improve on before Tuesday.
Nearly 20 years ago today (12 days until the anniversary), Puerto Rico pulled off one of the biggest international upsets of all time, defeating the United States by 19 points in the opening game of the 2004 Olympic Games. It was the first loss to a Team USA team featuring NBA players.
And for about 17 minutes in the first half, another major upset seemed on the cards. Alvarado scored nine points in the first quarter and Puerto Rico led by as many as eight. With 3:15 left in the half, the score was 46-43, but James threw a beautiful behind-the-back pass to Embiid for a layup. The play sparked an 18-2 run by the U.S. at halftime to take a 64-45 lead.
The 39-year-old James finished with six points and three assists.
The first half of the match against Puerto Rico was dominated by the US team. #ParisOlympics
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— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 3, 2024
“I think we're in good shape,” James said. “There's always a chance we can start better at the beginning of the game, but teams are so excited to play us, it's not a probing game, but we can do a better job at starting games. We gave up (29) points in the first quarter today, which was not good, but we've been better since then.”
Durant is bidding for a record four Olympic gold medals in men's basketball, while James is three wins away from a third. James was on the team that lost to Puerto Rico 20 years ago, co-captained the Redeem team with Kobe Bryant four years later and was part of the dominant 2012 team in London.
James has played in five exhibition games and three Olympic games this summer, leading the team in points and assists.
“The best part of this trip for me was seeing LeBron behind the scenes, seeing his preparation, his focus and understanding why he is who he is,” Kerr said. “It's just awesome to watch him. He loves the game. He loves his job, he loves his teammates. LeBron has an energy and a joy that spreads into the locker room.”
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(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
