Team USA’s woes in international play continued as USA Basketball dropped their matchup against France to open Olympic medal competition 83 to 76 with a big third-quarter surge and 28 points from Boston Celtics shooting guard Evan Fournier.
NBA teammate and Olympics opponent Jayson Tatum scored just 9 points and 2 blocks off the bench for USA on 3-of-9 shooting (including going 1-of-5 from beyond the arc) and the other two Celtics alumni playing for France — Guerschon Yabusele (6 points, 4 rebounds) and Vincent Poirier (3 points, 4 rebounds) — contributed to the win against the United States.
Team USA has not lost in official Olympic play since the 2004 Olympics that saw them take home the Bronze after losing to Argentina.
WATCH: Celtics icon Larry Bird’s 1992 Barcelona Olympics highlights with the Dream Team https://t.co/lIlUWG6FOA
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) July 25, 2021
After struggling in exhibition play while training for the Tokyo Olympics in Las Vegas, Nevada with Team USA losing 2 of 4 friendlies played, this was perhaps less of a surprise than it might be, if a concerning one for fans in the U.S.
Team USA next faces Iran on Wednesday, July 28 at 12:40 a.m.
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