Advertisement
Tokyo Olympics: France upset USA in men’s basketball as Kevin Durant foul trouble hurts Americans
- The USA men’s team kicks off quest for gold against France in first group match, losing a close game after Kevin Durant gets into foul trouble
- Next up for the Americans as they look to defend their gold medal is Iran on Wednesday, and then they finish off group play against the Czech Republic
Reading Time:1 minute
Why you can trust SCMP
The US men’s basketball team lost 83-76 to France as Boston Celtics guard Evan Fournier scored 28 points in the upset victory, smashing the Americans’ 25-game win streak at the Tokyo Olympics.
Advertisement
Milwaukee Bucks point guard Jrue Holiday, fresh off an NBA championship, led the US with 18 points.
The team led 45-37 at half-time over a French squad led by Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert and looked to be in cruise control. However, they were outscored by France 12-7 in the third quarter after Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant got into foul trouble.
France tied up the game in the third quarter, erasing a 10-point lead. France only scored one point in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter as Holiday took over the game, but it was not enough as Fournier took charge in the fourth.
The United States’ men’s national basketball team touched down in Tokyo with a number of familiar names missing from their roster, most notably Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Stephen Curry, Cleveland Cavaliers’ veteran Kevin Love and Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal, who was ultimately ruled out after being placed under Covid-19 health and safety protocols.
Advertisement
Advertisement