Former Cats lead USA to Olympic semifinals with blowout win over Brazil

Olympics: Basketball-Men Quarterfinal - BRA-USA — Aug 6, 2024; Paris, France; United States guard Devin Booker (15) reacts with guard Jrue Holiday (12) in the first quarter against Brazil in a men’s basketball quarterfinal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

It was over before it started for Brazil, the United States cruising to a blowout victory in the Olympic quarterfinals to set up a date with Serbia in the semis on Thursday.

Coming in as a 26.5-point favorite, the U.S. jumped out to a quick double-digit lead and never looked back, closing out with a 122-87 win — a 35-point demolition. And it was the former Wildcats standing out in Devin Booker, Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo, that trio combining for 40 points.

Booker led all U.S. scorers with 18 points on 6-9 shooting and 5-7 from three to go with three rebounds and three assists in the well-rounded effort. Oh, and he did it all in two quarters, sitting out the second and fourth quarters because you can when the game is out of hand. Elsewhere, Davis added 13 points on 5-9 shooting with eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block while Adebayo went for nine points on 4-8 shooting, seven rebounds, one assist and one steal.

It was Davis who had the highlight of the day, throwing down a putback poster slam in the third quarter with the favorite cruising.

Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning

By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.

ANTHONY DAVIS PUTBACK SLAM. 😤🇺🇸

📺 USA Network and Peacock | #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/UpCL5jy1dQ
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 6, 2024

Booker’s and-one 3-pointer amid his red-hot first quarter wasn’t too shabby, either. He would put up nine points on 3-4 shooting and 2-2 from three in that opening segment.

Devin Booker sinks it FOR THREE AND THE FOUL. 🇺🇸🔥

📺 USA Network and Peacock | #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/5Up8oR0upk
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 6, 2024

Elsewhere, Anthony Edwards put up 17 points, followed by Joel Embiid with 14, LeBron James with 12 and Kevin Durant with 11 to round out double-figure scorers. That effort for Durant actually made him the all-time leading scorer in U.S. Olympic history for both men and women, passing Lisa Leslie for most points ever. He’s also the all-time leading rebounder and all-time leader in made field goals.

The greatest scorer in U.S. Olympic basketball history.

🇺🇸 #USABMNT #Paris2024 #Basketball pic.twitter.com/NICZfJBWqu
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 6, 2024

Mission accomplished — for now. The United States will now take on Nikola Jokic and Serbia in the semifinals on Thursday for a spot in the gold medal game with Germany taking on France on the other side of the bracket.