Paris (AFP) – Kevin Durant called Stephen Curry’s 36-point effort in the United States’ 95-91 win over Serbia a “God-like performance” as the four-time reigning Olympic champions pulled off an exhilarating fourth-quarter comeback Thursday.
Curry kept the USA in the game as Serbia dominated through the first three quarters and threatened a semi-final upset, leading by 13 going into the final period at Bercy Arena. The US outscored Serbia 32-15 over the last 10 minutes to set up a blockbuster final with hosts France on Saturday, a repeat of the gold medal match three years ago at the Tokyo Games.
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“Steph, man that was a God-like performance, because he felt like he was struggling throughout the whole tournament,” said Durant, a three-time Olympic gold medallist. “We always said, ‘Each night it could be somebody different.’ And tonight he showed up.”
“Shot after shot, getting a steal at the end, finishing with the layup. He was everywhere tonight. It was one of the greatest games I’ve ever seen him play.” Curry didn’t do it alone as Joel Embiid hit a series of clutch shots and finished with 19 points. “He showed why he’s one of the greatest ever to touch a basketball,” Durant said of Embiid, who helped put Nikola Jokic in foul trouble down the stretch.
An astonishing five-minute burst to start the fourth quarter brought the US back into the game before the star-studded team took control. “We tried not to get too discouraged. Late in the third quarter they hit us pretty hard…but we just kept pushing. We were able to pressure them, get them to miss shots, and we were out on the break,” said Durant.
LeBron James, who had 16 points, ranked the win as one of the greatest in his record-breaking career. “It’s up there,” said the 39-year-old. “I don’t know how many opportunities and moments I’m going to get like this to be able to compete for something, compete for something big and play in big games, and tonight was a big game.” He added: “We knew we were going to be challenged, we knew it was going to be the toughest game up to date, but it was a true total effort.”
James is going for his third Olympic gold and knows it’s unlikely to get any easier against the host nation. “Super competitive. Obviously, this is Wemby’s (Victor Wembanyama) first Olympics, but that team has been playing together for quite a while,” he said. “They’ve been feeding off the crowd, so we look forward to that match-up.”
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