Jayson Tatum and Evan Fournier play well as USA and France both win in Olympics

Jayson Tatum and Evan Fournier entered their second games at the Tokyo Olympics with different objectives. For Fournier, it was to make it two wins in a row for the French national team, while Tatum was looking for his first taste of Olympic victory with Team USA.

For the United States, adjusting to FIBA rules and the slightly shorter three-point line has looked to be a challenging prospect. Luckily, against Iran, the American men’s team found their rhythm early and never looked back.

Both France and the USA won their respective games today, and more importantly, Tatum and Fournier produced solid performances for their countries en route to victory. For the USA, their mauling of Iran was nothing less than expected, and while multiple players found their rhythm in the game, seeing Tatum begin to make an impact from the bench bodes well for the USA’s chances of gold.

Tatum played 17 minutes, shooting 5-for-11 from the field but still struggled with the FIBA three-point line, only hitting 2-for-7 from deep. Along with his 14 points, Tatum pulled down four rebounds and dropped 2 dimes, as both he and the rest of the team looked invigorated after their loss to France over the weekend.

For France, Fournier continued to be their offensive centerpiece as he dropped 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting with a 50% clip from three point land. Throughout the first two games, the free agent has scored 49 total points while leading France to back-to-back victories, something which the Celtics will be keeping a close eye on.

Fournier player 27 minutes against the Czech Republic and added two rebounds and three assists to his stat line throughout the contest. Outside of the ever impressive Luka Doncic, Fournier has been the standout performer of the Olympics basketball scene thus far.

Next up for Tatum and Team USA is France’s latest victim, the Czech Republic, on August 31st. France will be facing a tough Nigeria team next, with their game also scheduled for Saturday.