2024 Olympic basketball: Takeaways from Team USA's quarterfinal win - ESPN

PARIS — For months, Tuesday's Olympic men's basketball knockout round had been marked as a much anticipated day for international basketball.

It felt like a college tournament — where anything could happen with four games being played in the same venue. For the first time, the setting was the French capital, where the largest venue, Bercy Arena, became available after the conclusion of Olympic gymnastics.

The United States, Germany, France and Serbia all advanced to the semifinals, which will be held Thursday. Here are the key takeaways after Team USA's 112-80 victory over Brazil, as LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry all inch closer to a gold medal.

When Steve Kerr met with his team before it took the floor Tuesday, he recapped what had happened earlier in the day in the Bercy Arena.

In the morning, Greece built a 12-point first-half lead on Germany, and it took a dominant second-half performance from the World Cup champs to make sure they advanced to the semifinals.

LeBron James, Stephen Curry & Co. look to lead Team USA to a fifth straight Olympic gold medal.

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In the afternoon, Serbia trailed by 24 points to Australia before pulling off the biggest comeback in Olympic basketball history thanks to a brilliant final few minutes from Nikola Jokic.

Then, just as Team USA was arriving at the arena, France was pulling off a stirring upset over Canada, seen as the biggest challenger to the Americans for the gold.

Three underdogs putting the favorites to the test.

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