Down by 11 in the fourth quarter, against what looked like overwhelming odds, the U.S. Olympic men's basketball team got a spark. (Full Coverage | Medal Table | Schedule & Results)
Six points in two seconds.
Kevin Durant and Devin Booker provided that wild sequence to start the comeback, Stephen Curry had a scoring night like almost none other in U.S. Olympic history, and the Americans will play for gold at the Paris Games. Curry scored 36 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:16 left, and the U.S. beat Serbia 95-91 in a semifinal classic on Thursday night.
LeBron James had the fourth triple-double in Olympic history for the U.S., which trailed by 17 points in the first half and faced an 11-point halftime deficit 바카라 the biggest one successfully overcome by an American team since NBA players were added to the Olympic mix in 1992.
바카라I've seen a lot of Team USA basketball,바카라 Curry said. 바카라And that was a special one.바카라
Serbia led by 11 with 7:19 left. The rest of the way, it was all U.S. The Americans won a game where they led for 3 minutes, 25 seconds. Serbia led for 35:12 바카라 nearly 90% of the game.
But it'll be the U.S. against host France for gold in a dream matchup for the host nation on Saturday, while Serbia will face Germany earlier Saturday for bronze. The gold-medal game is a rematch from the Tokyo Games three years ago, where the Americans prevailed 87-82.
바카라I'm really humbled to have been a part of this game," U.S. coach Steve Kerr said, tipping his hat multiple times to Serbia. 바카라It's one of the greatest basketball games I've ever been a part of. They were perfect. They played a perfect game. Our coaches were saying Villanova-Georgetown, for all of our older readers and viewers out there.
"But they played the perfect game, and they forced us to reach the highest level of competition that we could find. And our guys were incredible in that fourth quarter, and they got it done.바카라
Joel Embiid scored 19 points on 8 for 11 shooting and James added 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for the U.S., which is now assured of its 20th medal in 20 Olympic appearances.
바카라Joel was everything," said James, who has two of the four triple-doubles in Olympic men's history; he also had one in 2012, while the Soviet Union's Aleksander Belov in 1976 and Slovenia's Luka Doncic in 2021 had the others. 바카라Made every big shot.바카라
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 20 points for Serbia, which got 17 from Nikola Jokic and 15 from Aleksa Avramovic. The Serbians were 0-3 against the U.S. this summer, getting blown out in the first two meetings and then looking poised for a win of their own on Thursday.
The whole game changed in the fourth after a wild sequence saw the U.S. score six points in two seconds. Durant made a 3-pointer while Anthony Davis was getting fouled. The U.S. got another possession because of the foul, and Booker immediately made another 3-pointer.
Just like that, a 78-67 lead for Serbia was down to 78-73. The comeback was on, and Curry's 3 put the U.S. up for good. He added a pair of free throws with 8.2 seconds left to make it a two-possession game and the Americans escaped.
Curry's 36 points were the second-most in a game by a U.S. men's player in Olympic history, one shy of Carmelo Anthony's record 37 against Nigeria in 2012. And Anthony, sitting courtside, was Curry's biggest cheerleader. When the Americans tied it with about 3:35 left, Curry gave Anthony a big smile. When the go-ahead 3 rattled home, Anthony leaped from his seat. And when it was over, the two shared a long embrace.
바카라That was a godlike performance," Durant said of Curry.
Serbia coach Svetislav Petic kept saying the same thing all summer, that the team the U.S. put together for the Paris Games was better than any in Olympic history. Even the Dream Team, he insisted. His mind wasn't changed after this one.
바카라They're that good,바카라 he said.
A barrage of Serbian 3-pointers had the Americans squarely on the ropes, until the game changed in the fourth. But in the end, the U.S. improved to 144-6 all-time in Olympic play, 63-4 since NBA players were added to the Olympics in 1992.
바카라Perseverance, hard work dedication, Chef Curry and Joel Process' Embiid,바카라 James said. 바카라Big-time win for us. We knew we were going to be challenged. We knew it was going to be the toughest game to date. Total effort.바카라
Gold is the goal, but that didn't keep the U.S. from celebrating upon returning to the team hotel. Down 42-25 at one point, down 11 in the fourth, the Americans outscored the Serbians 32-15 in the final quarter.
바카라I know we want to win the gold, but you've got to celebrate the small moments, too,바카라 Durant said in a video distributed by USA Basketball well after midnight as he grabbed a postgame meal next to his mother, Wanda. 바카라Guarantee you, everybody in here, they'll never forget this night. Everybody in here will remember this night for the rest of their lives. That's how special this is.바카라
The comeback kept Durant's hopes of becoming the first four-time Olympic men's gold medalist very much alive and gave the U.S. a chance to return to the international basketball mountaintop. The Americans were fourth at the World Cup last summer, a result that spurred some NBA stars like James and Curry to be part of this team.
