Recap: Les Bleus beat Brazil, 78-66

The Olympic hosts start 1-0.

France overcame a sluggish start to beat Brazil 78-66 in their 2024 Olympic men’s basketball opener Saturday at the Decathlon Arena in Lille.

Les Bleus trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half thanks to some hot outside shooting from Brazil’s Léo Meindl. But France found their footing in the second quarter and eventually took a 39-36 lead after an Evan Fournier triple in the final minute of the half.

Washington Wizards torch bearer Bilal Coulibaly first checked in with 2:15 left in the first quarter. He didn’t stay on the floor for long but did manage to make an impact on the defensive end. B-Cool had a chasedown block on Brazil guard Yago Santos, leading to a transition triple from Frank Ntilikina on the other end.

France’s defense began to really lock in during the third quarter. They allowed just nine Brazilian points and pushed their lead to 12 entering Q4 thanks to a rather generous continuation call for a Coulibaly And-1. The bucket was his only attempt of the ballgame.

Brazil crept closer midway through the fourth, cutting the lead down to four with 6:20 left. But Victor Wembanyama and Nicolas Batum closed things out late.

Wemby had several freakish plays throughout the game, while Batum hit a couple of dagger threes over the final 90 seconds to seal the result.

Wembanyama and Batum both scored a game-high 19 points. The San Antonio Spurs phenom also had nine rebounds, four steals, and three blocks.

Coulibaly played a total of nine minutes — three in the first half and six in the second. He recorded three points, two rebounds, and a block. But despite not being heavily featured in the game, Coulibaly played stellar defense and filled his role well in limited minutes.

France’s next game will be on Tuesday against Japan.