Former Sun Devil Lu Dort, Canada eliminated from Paris 2024 Olympics, fell 82-73 to host nation France

Former ASU forward/guard Lu Dort and Canada’s quest for a gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics has come to an end in the quarterfinals as they lost 82-73 to the host country France on Tuesday.

Dort scored eight points from 3-of-6 (50%) shooting and went 1-for-4 (25%) from three for Canada (3-1). His Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a team-high points 27 while RJ Barrett notched 16 in the loss.

Guerschon Yabusele eclipsed 22 points, Isaia Cordinier tacked on 20 and Evan Fournier came off the bench for an extra 15 for France (3-1).

France’s first-quarter domination driving factor in victory

In a tilt of two heavyweights in the Olympics going into the tournament, both France and Canada planned to set the tone early in the first game of the knockout stage, but only one ended up doing so.

France came out with intense physicality as soon as the ball flew up in the air for the first tip, signifying how much they wanted to win. Cordinier swished a pair of threes to ignite a 12-0 run by the Frenchmen. From a 3-pointer by Dort 2:13 into the game until 1:35 left in the first quarter, Canada was held scoreless, seeing them trail 23-10 early on.

The Canadians were both struggling with converting on their opportunities to score and honing in defensively in transition.

Matching that same energy into the second frame, the French grew their lead to 15 before a pushback response from Gilgeous-Alexander. In the quarter alone, he scored 11 of Canada’s 19 points as he took his opportunities to shoot and found his way to the bucket.

Despite Gilgeous-Alexander’s effort to fight back, France continued to swarm the Canadians in the paint and attack at will, going into halftime with a 45-29 lead.

Down by 16, Canada needed a spark and whatever was said in their locker room at halftime, it started to work.

Dort and Gilgeous-Alexander combined for 12 points and the Canadians adapted to how France was trying to play, limiting the amount of space the French had to operate offensively.

Getting within 10, Barrett entered the fourth quarter with five quick points and saw Canada trail by just six.

Seeing the momentum shift in Canada’s favor, Fournier subbed in and became the instrumental reason why France was able to advance. With just three points before the final frame, he scorched for 12 points to see out the 82-73 win.

France shot 20-for-48 (41.7) from the field and 9-for-28 (32.1%) from three. They narrowly led in the rebounding department 37-36 and had 17 turnovers compared to 14 from Canada. 2024 first-overall NBA Draft pick Victory Wembanyama was limited to just seven points.

On Thursday, the French advance to the semifinal vs. Germany while Canada is now eliminated. Continuing their dry spell of not medaling, Canada hasn’t advanced to the final four of the Olympics since 1984.