MANILA, Philippines – The quarterfinal cast is all set.

After completing a 3-0 sweep of the group phase, Team USA’s quest for a fifth consecutive gold-medal finish moves along in the 2024 Paris Olympics men’s basketball as it takes on Brazil in a knockout quarterfinal match on Tuesday, August 6 (Wednesday, August 7, Manila time).

Please refresh this page for live updates.

Third quarter

• USA 66-38: Bruno Caboclo soars for a tip-in dunk, Jrue Holiday answers with a three

Second quarter

• HALFTIME: USA finishes the second quarter on a 15-0 run for a whopping 63-36 edge against Brazil
• USA 63-36: LeBron James lobs it up to Jayson Tatum for a two-handed slam
• USA 61-36: LeBron James nails two foul shots
• USA 59-36: Jrue Holiday keeps their run going with a mid-range jumper
• USA 57-36: LeBron James goes coast-to-coast for a layup
• USA 55-36: Joel Embiid scores off a putback, plus the foul. He swishes the bonus.
• USA 52-36: LeBron James finds the cutting Jrue Holiday for a layup. Timeout Brazil with 2:35 left.
• USA 50-36: LeBron James finishes down low
• USA 48-36: Bruno Caboclo makes two free throws
• USA 48-34: Joel Embiid sinks his third triple of the game
• USA 45-34: Steph Curry goes 3/3 from the line
• USA 42-34: Lucas Dias swishes the corner trey
• USA 42-31: Jayson Tatum stops the drought with two charities
• USA 40-31: 10-0 run for Brazil as Marcelo Huertas scores again
• USA 40-29: Marcelo Huertas pulls up from long distance
• USA 40-26: Lucas Dias and Georginho De Paula with back-to-back baskets for Brazil. Timeout USA with 5:30 remaining.
• USA 40-21: Derrick White cleans up the miss, Anthony Edwards rattles in a three
• USA 35-21: Bam Adebayo opens the second quarter with a deuce

First quarter

• END OF 1Q: USA enjoys a 33-21 lead over Brazil
• USA 33-21: Vitor Benite splits his free throws
• USA 33-20: Georginho De Paula completes an and-one
• USA 33-17: Anthony Edwards gets on the board with a fastbreak layup
• USA 31-17: Anthony Davis gets the tough layup to fall
• USA 29-17: Kevin Durant scores his first two points of the game from the foul line
• USA 27-17: Lucas Dias drains a three-pointer
• USA 27-14: Devin Booker completes the four-point play
• USA 26-14: Bruno Caboclo and Devin Booker exchange treys
• USA 23-11: LeBron James hits his trademark turnaround jumper
• USA 21-11: Joel Embiid fires from downtown
• USA 18-11: Marcelo Huertas floats one in
• USA 18-9: Leo Meindl nails a technical free throw
• USA 18-8: Bruno Caboclo responds with his own short jumper
• USA 18-6: Joel Embiid short stab is good
• USA 16-6: Devin Booker pushes the lead to double-digits with a triple. Timeout Brazil with 5:57 to play.
• USA 13-6: Jrue Holiday throws it down
• USA 11-6: Steph Curry connects on his second layup
• USA 9-6: Marcelo Huertas stops and pops for a jumper
• USA 9-4: LeBron James scores his first basket off a feed by Jrue Holiday
• USA 7-4: Steph Curry lays it in
• USA 5-4: Bruno Caboclo scores inside, Joel Embiid answers with a long bomb
• 2-2: Devin Booker puts USA on the board with a deuce
• BRAZIL 2-0: Gui Santos steals and scores in transition

Starting lineups

• USA: Steph Curry, Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker, LeBron James, Joel Embiid
• BRAZIL: Marcelo Huertas, Raul Neto, Gui Santos, Leo Meindl, Bruno Caboclo

Preview

The top-seeded USA steamrolled past all its three opponents in Group C, winning all its matches by an average margin of 21.3 points.

Despite playing 10-minute quarters in the Olympics, the all-NBA USA squad breached the 100-point scoring territory in all its games, including a tournament-best 110-point output against Serbia. 

Going up against a Brazilian side, which finished the group phase with a 1-2 slate, expect the mighty Americans to show no signs of slowing down as all remaining games are win-or-go home from this point on. 

Look for USA head coach Steve Kerr to continue shuffling his star-studded starting lineup led by captain LeBron James, with three-time Olympic gold medalist Kevin Durant providing firepower off the bench. 

James averaged an all-around line of 14.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 7.3 assists in USA’s first three games, while Durant averaged 16 points per contest on 71.4% shooting from beyond the arc.

First-time Olympian Anthony Edwards emerged as USA’s topscorer in the group phase with 16.7 points per outing, highlighted by a 26-point explosion versus Puerto Rico last Monday, August 5.

For Brazil, Vitor Benite and former NBA forward Bruno Caboclo are expected to lead the way after averaging 14.3 and 13 points, respectively, in the group phase.

Look for veteran point guard and former Los Angeles Lakers player Marcelo Huertas to also deliver for Brazil as they hope to pull off a major Olympic shocker.

Game time is 3:30 am, Manila time. – Rappler.com