Stephen Curry saved Team USA on Thursday night in Paris.
The Golden State Warriors star powered the United States out of a 17-point hole to beat Nikola Jokić and Serbia 95-91 in their quarterfinals matchup in France. That officially sent the United States back to the championship game, where they’ll attempt to win a fifth consecutive gold medal.
Curry went off immediately on Thursday afternoon. He dropped 14 of the first 15 points for the United States and hit his career-high in an Olympic game not even halfway through the first quarter. He had 17 points at the end of the first, but the rest of the United States shot just 1-of-8 from the field in the first 10 minutes.
Serbia flew ahead to an 11-point lead at halftime, however, and they seemed to shut down the Americans at every turn. Aleksa Avramovic led the way with 15 points while shooting 4-of-6 from behind the arc. Bogdan Bogdanovic had 12 points, and Jokić was just shy of a double-double at the break with nine points and seven assists. Kevin Durant, Team USA’s all-time leading scorer, didn’t score in the first half and only took a single shot in the first 20 minutes.
Though Team USA cut it to six points briefly in the third, Serbia flew ahead to double digits by the end of the period and held that lead well into the fourth quarter. Finally, though, Durant came through. He sank a 3-pointer from the wing while Jokić drew an off-ball foul, which then set up a wide-open 3-pointer from Devin Booker to complete the six-point possession. That suddenly cut the deficit to five points early in the fourth quarter and kept the United States in it.
Then late in the period, Joel Embiid went on a 7-0 run of his own before a blocked shot set up a perfect drive from James to complete the comeback and finally tie the game back up.
Curry then drilled a huge 3-pointer, which both he and James followed up with layups to suddenly put Team USA up by five late in the period — which was enough to push them to the four-point win.
France fended off Germany 73-69 in the other semifinals game on Thursday to earn a spot in the gold medal game. Guerschon Yabusele dropped 17 points to lead France, and San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama had 11 points and seven rebounds to lift the French back to the gold medal game for a second consecutive Games. The United States beat France at the Tokyo Olympics to win a fourth straight gold.
Stay with Yahoo Sports for complete coverage of the USA vs. Serbia men’s basketball semifinals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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Halftime: Serbia 54, USA 43
Team USA definitely has a game on its hands and an uphill climb in the second half. Steph Curry leads the U.S. with 20 points, the only player on the team in double figures. LeBron James has nine.
Aleksa Avramovic has 15 for Serbia, followed by 12 from Bogdan Bogdanovic and nine for Nikola Jokic.
It’s time to get Kevin Durant interested, no? Can’t remember seeing him get a touch
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) August 8, 2024
Big question for the U.S.: Where is Kevin Durant? He has zero points and only took one shot in the first half.
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Curry, Bogdanovic trade threes
Steph Curry hits another 3 for Team USA to close the margin to 51–40. But Bogdan Bogdanovic responds with a 3 of his own. Serbia 54, USA 40.
Curry has 20 for the U.S., shooting 6-for-9 on 3s.
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Serbia kills any USA momentum
Serbia answers with a 3 by Aleksa Avramovic to restore its lead to 13, 50–37.
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Joel Embiid with a power dunk
LeBron James hits a three, then gets a steal on the other end of the floor.
That sets up Joel Embiid for a monster dunk past Filip Petrusev to once again cut Serbia’s lead to 10 points, 47–37. Embiid has seven points.
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Bogdanovic ends USA run
Bogdan Bogdanovic hits a three to stop Team USA’s rally. He has 12 points for Serbia, shooting 2-for-3 on his 3s.
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USA on a 7–0 run
The U.S. might be beginning its comeback, scoring seven straight points after a three by Joel Embiid.
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Nikola Jokic makes plays on both ends of the court
Nikola Jokic blocks LeBron James on the defensive end, gets the ball back at the top of the arc in transition, then drives the ball to the basket for a score and a foul.
Jokic makes the free throw to give Serbia a 42–27 lead over USA. He has nine points with six assists
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