Today, August 6, 2024, the United States took the court and faced off against Brazil in the quarterfinals for the men’s Olympic basketball tournament.
The match was a landslide victory for the US team, who defeated Brazil with a whopping score of 122-87.
The game started out very lively with Brazil relatively being able to put up a fight in the first quarter. Brazil, in fact, even scored first and surprisingly left the first quarter only losing 33-21.
The second quarter saw Brazil go on an impressive 13-2 run, which cut the deficit to 42-34—but sadly for team Brazil, it went downhill from there.
With the opponents closing in, team USA woke up to the game and decided to turn it up a notch. With an amazing second-half performance from the king himself, LeBron James, and Joel Embiid, the US were able to secure a 63-36 lead to take into halftime.
The third quarter saw the USA maintain their lead pretty easily, with the score going up to 91-71 by the end of the quarter.
Beyond the dunks and multiple threes, the most eventful moment of the third quarter was LeBron getting elbowed in the eye, which resulted in a substitution, but the hit was nothing serious and King James was fine afterward.
The fourth and final quarter was more of the same; the USA maintained their dominance and showed resilience on both ends of the court.
As a result of the win, the USA will now face Serbia in the semifinals.
The match against Serbia will be on August 8 and promises to be a contested match. Serbia also qualified today, August 6, with a dramatic 95-90 win over Australia.
Led by NBA star Nikola Jokic, the Serbian team is versatile and is sure to do their best to put up a fight against the USA Dream Team.
But no matter what happens, it’s hard to imagine a world where Team USA loses to Serbia, and today’s match was a perfect example of why it’s like that.
The USA team has such a depth in their squad that it becomes almost impossible to even compete against them. The firepower, the defensive prowess, the leadership, and the experience that team USA carry with them is truly remarkable.
For instance, in today’s game against Brazil, team USA made 17/19 free throws (89%), got 46 rebounds, had only 11 turnovers, and made an impressive 9 steals and 7 blocks.
The best players from the American camp in today’s game were Devin Booker, who made 18 points, and Joel Embiid with 14 points and 7 rebounds.
Another key player in today’s match was King James. LeBron contributed greatly to America’s victory. He had 12 points, 9 assists, and 3 steals.
On the other side of the pond, Brazil leaves defeated but with their honor intact.
The Brazilian team had a very good start and although they weren’t able to keep the momentum throughout the whole game, they fought hard and scored a lot of points—87 points is a lot of points. Well, not in an NBA game, and not when your opponent has scored 122, but it is a lot when you’re facing the USA. For instance, no team in this year’s Olympics has scored this many points against Team USA.
It also must truly be highlighted the amazing performance from Brazilian player Bruno Caboclo, who scored 30 points against the USA.
Another player to be highlighted from Brazil’s camp is Marcelinho Huertas. The Brazilian veteran, who was probably playing his final Olympic match for Brazil, was able to provide his nation with 9 points and 5 assists.
However, as the score tells it, no matter how well individually these players played, and how hard Brazil fought, beating America was just a task too difficult to be completed—and in truth, sometimes it’s like that.
Brazil entered the match as the underdog. Facing a team with superstars like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker is equivalent to facing a giant, and on paper, the odds were heavily against Brazil. And despite these near-impossible odds, Brazil still showed up, Brazil still fought hard, and Brazil still tried their best.
Although they might not have succeeded in the literal sense of actually winning, they exceeded many expectations. They scored 87 points, and at moments they were even able to compete.
To me, this reflects a broader life lesson—that sometimes the outcomes might seem predetermined, but it’s being there, it’s showing up, and trying your best that truly matters.
It’s not always the final result that determines what someone is; sometimes the effort itself, the fight itself—sometimes that is, in fact, what demonstrates what someone’s spirit is made of.
Brazil played with heart and determination, and although the almost impossible mission turned out to actually be impossible, they still showcased an immense fighting spirit and made their country proud.
This isn’t to undermine or villainize Team USA—they did what was expected of them, they did what their job was. Their victory is a reflection of the amazing infrastructure of American sports, of their years of preparation, and abundant God-given talent.
For the USA, the game was about maintaining their status and moving closer to their ultimate goal: the gold medal.
For Brazil, however, there won’t be a medal, but sometimes the true medal can be the lessons we learn, and today’s game taught us that sometimes it’s not about the final score, but about having the courage to face challenges head-on.
Today perfectly showcased the reality that life isn’t a movie; the underdog doesn’t always win, the hero doesn’t always save the day, but sometimes that’s okay.
Sometimes just trying your best is enough, and sometimes you’ll lose 122-87 and sometimes it’s okay to just be proud you managed to score that 87.
Moving on from today, the US will set its sights on Serbia while team Brazil will regroup and get some well-deserved rest.
For more sports stories like this one, stay tuned to the Roadrunner for more.
