Coming out of the group stage, Canada and Germany looked like the top contenders to Team USA for the gold medal in men’s basketball at the Paris Olympics, as France got absolutely blasted by the Germans to close out the group stage slate. That said, France got a chance to reassert themselves as a medal threat in the quarterfinals against a Canadian team that they would have a significant size advantage against. Before the game even started, we got an indication of how seriously France was taking this game as they made a starting lineup change, removing Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier for Guerschon Yabusele and Isaiah Cordinier, trying to get more switching and versatility on the floor against the rangy, but smaller Canadian team.
That adjustment paid big dividends as France jumped out to a 23-10 lead after one quarter, as they smothered Canada’s offense and walled off the rim with Victor Wembanyama lurking and roaming on the back line. They extended that lead to 16 at the half, and it looked like a romp might be in store for the host nation. However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would lead a second half charge that saw Canada get within two possessions on a couple of occasions late, with France struggling offensively.
However, they would turn to the veteran, Fournier, who came off the bench to score 15 points including a pair of late threes, the second of which was a buzzer-beating heave at the end of the shot clock from near midcourt that sent the crowd into a frenzy. Evan Four.