Opening the first day of 3x3 basketball action at the Paris Olympics, Germany pulled off an upset of the defending Olympic champion U.S. women's team, while the U.S. men fell in a hard-fought game to No. 1-ranked Serbia. The Canadian women, Latvian men and Dutch men also posted victories in pool play on Tuesday.
Here's a look at the action from La Concorde on Tuesday.
Team USA
Women: Germany 17, U.S. 13
Opening their Olympic title defense, the U.S. women's 3x3 basketball team fell to a hot-shooting Germany squad, 17-13.
Germany trailed 5-0 early but dominated the final eight minutes to win its first-ever Olympic 3x3 basketball game. The Germans showcased a beautifully balanced attack, with no player scoring more than five points and all four players dropping in at least three.
Hailey Van Lith, a member of the 2023 FIBA 3x3 World Cup gold medal-winning U.S. squad, led the Americans with six points and three rebounds. Los Angeles Sparks forward Dearica Hamby snagged seven boards and added four points.
After the initial Hamby-led 5-0 run for the U.S., the Germans punched right back with an 11-3 run to pull ahead by three. Stella Reichert powered Germany with three key buckets, not missing a single shot.
With U.S. energy flagging, Van Lith dropped in a clutch bucket to stop the bleeding. Hamby then connected on two of her own, tying it at 11 with just 3:10 left. But from there, it was all Germany. Sonja Greinacher connected on a big two, and the Germans never surrendered the lead, coasting to a 17-13 victory.
The U.S. shot just 1-of-8 from behind the arc, while Germany's 40% clip all but assured the German victory.
The loss is just the U.S.'s second loss in the short history of Olympic 3x3 women's basketball. The U.S. is back in action Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. ET against Azerbaijan. Germany faces Australia at 11:30 a.m. ET.
—Sam Brief
Men: Serbia 22, U.S. 14
Drawing the top-ranked team in the world is a tough way to break into the Olympics, and the new-look U.S. men's 3x3 team wasn't quite up to the task in a rematch of last year's FIBA World Cup gold medal game.
Things started off strong enough: Jimmer Fredette hit a vintage pull-up two and worked some smart pick-and-rolls with Kareem Maddox to build a 10-9 lead.
From there, though, Serbia turned on the afterburners, heating up from beyond the arc and penetrating to the basket with ease. Marko Brankovic (eight points) and Strahinja Stojacic (seven points) were the stars for Serbia, shooting a perfect 8-for-8 from one-point range and canning consecutive long twos to close out the game.
Maddox led the Americans in scoring with six points, while Fredette added four with three assists. Jimmer was quiet down the stretch, however, committing multiple turnovers and struggling to contain his man on defense.
That side of the ball was always going to be a challenge for the U.S. given the relative lack of size and quickness on the roster, and sure enough, Serbia didn't miss a shot from one-point range and got the looks they wanted throughout.
Of course, seven pool play games leaves plenty of room for growth, and Team USA will have a chance to bounce back on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. ET against Poland. Serbia faces China at 11:30 a.m. ET.
—Chris Landers
Other women's pool-play games
Canada 22, Australia 14
Canada smothered Australia early en route to a commanding opening victory. The Canadians led 15-3 after the first 5:24 and held on for the eight point win.
Twin stars Katherine and Michelle Plouffe scored 10 and 8 points, respectively, with Katherine drilling each of her 2-point attempts. As a team, Canada was incredibly efficient, missing just five shots from inside the arc while coughing up three fewer turnovers. The win for Canada is the nation's first in women's 3x3 basketball.
Spain 18, Azerbaijan 16
This matchup of first-time entrants turned into a barnburner, as Azerbaijan rallied from a 17-11 deficit but ultimately ran out of time before they could attempt a tying possession.
Spain actually shot a lower percentage in this game, but 10 forced turnovers helped build a lead over the back half of the contest. Vega Gimeno and Gracia Alonso led a balanced attack with five points apiece, while Tiffany Hayes put up 10 points and seven rebounds for Azerbaijan.
China 21, France 19 (OT)
A rematch of the 2020 bronze medal game gave us our first overtime period of the Paris tournament.
This was a nip and tuck affair all the way between two evenly matched teams, with China racing out to an early lead but France storming back thanks to a 6-0 run in which all four players on the roster scored. Hortense Limouzin scored just before the buzzer to knot things at 19, but Lili Wang connected from long range to end the game on China's second possession.
Other men's pool-play games
Latvia 21, Lithuania 14
Latvia trounced Lithuania in the defending Olympic champions' first game of Paris 2024 with a 21-14 win.
Latvia forced 10 turnovers, and only committed three, as they rolled through Tuesday's contest. Nauris Miezis powered the Latvians with nine points and four rebounds, and Latvia shot a stellar 6-for-18 from downtown. Lithuania, meanwhile, made just 1-of-12 two-point attempts. Aurelijus Pukelis was Lithuania's top scorer — he dropped in eight points on 6-of-7 shooting from inside.
Netherlands 21, China 16
Each making their second appearances in the Olympic men's 3x3 basketball tournament, China and the Netherlands played a physical, defensive opener on Tuesday. The Dutch, led by 36-year-old veteran Worthy de Jong (nine points), smothered China with a 21-16 victory.
The Netherlands showcased remarkable efficiency, scoring on 16 of their 18 shots from inside the arc. The Dutch also committed just two turnovers (to China's seven) and grabbed six offensive rebounds (to China's zero). Ning Zhang led China with seven points in the opening-round loss.
France 21, Poland 19
In its first-ever Olympic appearance, in front of a raucous home crowd, the French men's 3x3 team used some hot outside shooting to erase an early deficit and nip Poland.
France hoisted a whopping 14 two-point shots, and while it only made four of them, the unique 3x3 scoring format meant that that was enough to tip the math and account for the difference in an otherwise even game. Adrian Bogucki was dominant on the interior for Poland, going 6-for-7 from one-point range, but Lucas Dussoulier poured in nine points for France, including the final two-pointer to break a 19-19 tie.