This story was originally published by Dead Spin
PARIS — Franz Wagner and Germany overcame a sleepy start to ease past Greece 76-63 on Tuesday and became the first team to reach the semifinals of the Paris Olympics men’s basketball tournament.
Wagner led Germany with 18 points while Dennis Schroeder chipped in 13 as the World Cup winners improved their record to 4-0, securing their spot in a first-ever Olympics final four where they await either Canada or France.
“It means a lot (to be in semifinals for the first time). I think everybody in the team knows that we have a special group,” Wagner said. “That’s motivation enough. I was seven, I think, when Dirk (Nowitzki) played in the Olympics and I think we’ve come a long way, and that’s because of guys like him. (It is) all on us to keep that going forward.”
Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo had a game-high 22 points in a losing cause for Greece, who had just one win in group action and squeaked into the last eight as the best third-place finisher.
The basketball tournament moved to Paris from Lille, where group play was held, for the knockout round with four quarterfinals highlighted by a showdown between medal contenders France and Canada followed by the LeBron James-led U.S. taking on Brazil.
–Serbia 95, Australia 90
Nikola Jokic proved again why he is a three-time NBA most valuable player, leading Serbia to a nail-biting overtime win over Australia and into the final four of the tournament.
It was an uphill victory from the start for Serbia, who dug themselves out of a 24-point first-half hole to reach the brink of a regulation victory only to watch Patty Mills hit a desperation fade away jumper with 1.4 seconds to play to force the extra session.
With just over a minute to go in overtime and Serbia trailing 90-89, Jokic came to his country’s rescue, scoring two clutch baskets to deliver the dagger and a 93-90 lead.
Bogdan Bogdanovic made the final two free throws to seal the victory.
Jokic finished with a team high 21 points and 14 rebounds, while Bogdanovic contributed 17 points for Serbia.
–France 82, Canada 73
France rode the home crowd and a wave of emotion to advance to the Olympic semifinals and a rematch with Germany.
Leading the way for Les Bleus was Guerschon Yabusele with 22 points while Isaia Cordinier added 20 in what was a total team effort with four players getting into double figures.
France sprinted to a 19-5 lead in the opening minutes and never trailed.
After a less than inspiring performance in the group stage that saw the Olympic hosts lose to Germany and need overtime to see off Japan, the French delivered their best effort when it mattered moving on to face Germany.
–Reuters, Special to Field Level Media
