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Joel Embiid finally makes his debut, Team USA beats Brazil in Olympic MBB

Team USA, which placed first overall with its superior performance in the group stage, continued its dominance in the men’s basketball tournament.

With an easy 122-87 win over Brazil, Steve Kerr, Steph Curry and the United States are advancing to the semifinals, where Serbia awaits them. The United States, a 27.5-point favorite, started strong and never gave up with a balanced effort that saw the roster mesh as well as could be imagined.

The US team, which turned the quarterfinal match into a shooting drill, had six players score in double figures, while shooting 57% from the field and 48% from three-point range.

The U.S. has yet to fully unlock Curry, who had seven points on 2-of-3 shooting, but that doesn’t matter in the slightest. After looking shaky in the preseason, Team USA has made it through the tournament. The Americans now have wins of 35, 26, 17 and 21 points.

Kerr has essentially continued his game plan of integrating his roster by having five in and five out. For much of the tournament, the bench group led by Kevin Durant has been more effective than the starters. On Tuesday, Curry and the starters looked more comfortable than they did in the group stage.

Joel Embiid hit two early 3-pointers and Curry converted two layups off an assist from LeBron James. The U.S. blitzed Brazil from the start, hitting its first four 3-pointers and building an 18-6 lead.

Both units swarmed Brazil defensively, pressuring Brazil’s guards, including 41-year-old Marcelo Huertas, and forcing them into difficult shots.

But Brazil found its rhythm in the second quarter against Embiid’s drop coverage in the pick-and-roll, cutting the U.S. lead to eight. But Embiid hit his third 3 on the other end and James (nine assists) shredded Brazil’s defense.

Jayson Tatum’s alley-oop dunk after a pass from James before he could get in the game allowed the USA to close the half with a 15-0 run and close the half under control.

Trailing by 25 points, Brazil resorted to 3-pointers and fast breaks. They watched Warriors reserve Gui Santos from the perimeter, who scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds.