Paris (AFP) – The United States had to dig deep to erase a 17-point deficit to beat Nikola Jokic’s Serbia 95-91 on Thursday to keep their bid for a fifth straight Olympic men’s basketball gold medal alive. Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry dazzled with 36 points and all-time NBA scoring leader LeBron James had a triple-double of 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists for the Americans, who will meet hosts France in a repeat of the Tokyo Olympics final Saturday.
France booked a return trip to the title game with a 73-69 victory over reigning World Cup champions Germany. The US team, led by James, is reckoned to be the most talent-laden since the 1992 Dream Team led by Michael Jordan. However, it took a massive fourth-quarter effort to finally subdue the Serbians, who led most of the night and took a 76-63 advantage into the final period.
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“Big-time win for us,” James said. “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.” Curry rattled in a three-pointer with 2:24 remaining to give the United States their first lead since the first quarter at 87-86. “Knocking down a big shot like that, you live for those moments,” said Curry, who had struggled to find his shooting touch in his first Olympics. “(I) haven’t shot the ball well the whole tournament,” he said. “But it doesn’t waver your confidence to meet the moment.”
James followed with a driving layup, Curry grabbed a steal, and drove for a basket that pushed the US lead to five, and the Americans held on. Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic finished with 17 points and 11 assists for Serbia, who had 20 points from a brilliant Bogdan Bogdanovic. Curry drilled five three-pointers on the way to 17 first-quarter points. Serbia combined for five three-pointers themselves and led 31-23 after the first, continuing to pour it on. They pushed their lead to 42-25 in the second period, and suddenly the United States, whose romp through the group stage included a 110-84 victory over Serbia, looked in serious trouble for the first time at these Games.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Curry and Jrue Holiday cut the deficit to 59-65 late in the third, but the US couldn’t reel Serbia in until the bitter end.
France shook off a slow start and then held on late to edge Germany in front of an ecstatic home crowd, avenging their loss in the group stage to give themselves a chance at Olympic glory on home soil. Guerschon Yabusele led France’s scoring with 17 points, and Isaia Cordinier added 16. NBA rookie of the year Victor Wembanyama scored a modest 11 points with seven rebounds but delivered three crucial blocked shots for France, whose 10-point fourth-quarter lead dwindled to two when Germany’s Franz Wagner drilled a three-pointer with 37 seconds to play.
Cordinier finally allowed French fans to celebrate with a pair of free throws to cap the scoring. “Incredible, incredible moment,” Wembanyama said. “The fans made it hard for me not to cry.” Wembanyama noted that the French players were driven by their group stage loss to Germany. “We were just remembering how they were laughing last game, how easy it looked for them,” Wembanyama said. “I’m sure losing that game in the group phase helped us win today, definitely.” Dennis Schroder scored 18 points for Germany, but Wagner was the only other player in double figures.
Curry highlighted that France would be a tough proposition in their home Olympics. “I know they’re going to feed off their home energy,” Curry said.
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