France led throughout the entire 40 minutes and eliminated Canada from title contention in the Paris Olympic basketball tournament, 82-73.
France started the game incredibly well, not allowing Canada to lead for a single second throughout the entire 40 minutes, and advanced to the semifinals of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, winning the quarterfinal 82-73 (23-10, 22-19, 16-21, 21-23).
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
22
|
| Isaia Cordinier | |
| Points | 20 |
| Accuracy | 6-10 |
| Rebounds | 3 |
| Assists | 1 |
EuroLeague players led the way for France, with Virtus Segafredo Bologna's Isaia Cordinier scoring 20 (2/5 2PT, 4/5 3PT) and Real Madrid's Guerschon Yabusele adding 22 (4/5 2PT, 2/4 3PT, 8/8 FT). Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens center Mathias Lessort collected 13 points (9/14 FT).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for Canada with 27 points on 9-for-19 shooting, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. After three quarters, he was the only double-digit scorer on Canada's roster. RJ Barrett added 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting.
After some controversial comments after a loss against Germany, Evan Fournier was left on the bench versus Canada, having previously started all three group-stage games. Rudy Gobert, who had also started in all three previous games, remained on the bench as well.
To begin the game, Isaia Cordinieir scored 10 points in just over three minutes en route to a fiery 16-5 run, forcing Canada's head coach, Jordi Fernandez, to call a timeout. Mathias Lessort's alley-oop finished the first quarter, and France led by 13 (23-10).
Rudy Gobert entered the court for the first time in the second quarter with 7:41 remaining on the clock and France leading by 15 (28-13). Guerschon Yabusele hit a three-pointer as France went into halftime with an impressive 16-point lead (45-29).
Canada hit just three triples in 13 tries in the first half for an underwhelming 23% accuracy. France, meanwhile, attempted 25 free throws, with Mathias Lessort amassing 10.
While Canada managed to cut their deficit to seven with over two minutes remaining in the third quarter (49-56), France finished the third quarter better and once again had a double-digit lead (61-50).
Down by six in the fourth quarter (55-61), Gilgeous-Alexander had a chance to cut the deficit to four but missed both of his free throws. France immediately answered with four straight points, and Canada had to call a timeout.
While SGA struggled to convert free throws, Canada did not back down, and RJ Barrett's fast-break dunk narrowed the difference between the teams to just five (65-60) with four minutes to go.
However, France managed to control the final minutes. The game was best illustrated by an outrageous Evan Fournier's three-pointer from close to half-court with 55 seconds remaining on the game clock, which put France up 10 (76-66) and essentially decided the game.
After previously averaging more than 21 minutes of playing time per game, Rudy Gobert appeared for just over three minutes on the court on Tuesday.
This was France's 7th victory over Canada in 9 international meetings between the two national teams.
Like what we are doing? You can express your gratitude here.
