After missing the United States men’s basketball team’s 104-83 victory vs. Puerto Rico, a win where Jayson Tatum registered the first double-double of his Olympic career, producing ten points and as many rebounds, Jrue Holiday returned from an ankle injury and rejoined the starting lineup against Brazil on Tuesday.
The two-time All-Star ignited Team USA’s bench when he threw down a transition dunk early in the matchup. He followed that up by stonewalling a Marcelinho Huertas drive and then swatting his shot. Holiday finished with nine points, three assists, and two blocks in Tuesday’s 122-87 victory in Paris.
Backcourt mate Derrick White stuffed the stat sheet in Team USA’s quarterfinal tilt, generating five points, including knifing in for a put-back layup in the first half, four assists, the second-most on the U.S. side behind LeBron James, four rebounds, and two rejections.
Celtics star Jayson Tatum, the 11th player to enter the game for Team USA, capped the first half in style, elevating for an alley-oop on a dime from James on a sideline inbound.
Tatum, who debuted the third edition of his signature sneakers on Tuesday, finished with five points and three rebounds. He also found James for a basket from in close for his lone assist, swiped a steal, and registered a rejection, as Boston’s triumvirate accounted for five of Team USA’s seven blocks in a win that moves them two victories from a gold medal.
The victory over Brazil also saw Kevin Durant become the all-time leading scorer in U.S.A. basketball’s history, putting 11 points on the board on Tuesday, giving him 494 in his Olympic career, surpassing Lisa Leslie’s 488 points.
Team USA will face Nikola Jokic and Serbia on Thursday in the semifinals. The three-time NBA MVP produced 21 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists on Tuesday, leading the Serbian men’s basketball team to a 95-90 overtime win against Australia.
