Team USA has completed an epic comeback over Serbia, winning 91-86 in Friday morning’s thrilling Olympics basketball semi-final (all times AEDT) to set up a gold medal clash with France.
After digging themselves into a huge hole, the Americans outscored Serbia 32-15 in the fourth quarter in a fierce rally led by Steph Curry and the 39-year old LeBron James, while Joel Embiid helped slow three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
Curry led all scorers with 36 points on 9-of-14 shooting from downtown, while James racked up a 16-point, 12-rebound, 10-assist triple-double, with the superstar duo and Kevin Durant scoring the final 13 points for Team USA.
It included an assertive run down the stretch of the fourth term where Curry’s three-pointer gave USA an 87-86 lead before layups to James then Curry extended that advantage to 91-86 inside the last two minutes.
They never trailed again.
Team USA secure STUNNING comeback win | 00:56
A pair of Curry free throws with eight seconds left followed by a Bogdan Bogdanovic missed three sealed the Americans’ crazy win.
Jokic led the way for Serbia with 17 points, 11 assists and five rebounds, while Bogdanovic had a team-high 20 points.
Serbia shot out of the gates with a 31-23 lead after the first term and maintained a healthy lead all game.
A wild four-point play from Serbia’s Marko Guduric late in the third quarter extended their lead to 75-61 before Durant cut it to a 13-point game at the end of three periods.
Team USA came storming back in the fourth quarter though after Jokic failed to convert a three-point play early in the term, with the Americans hitting consecutive threes to get within five points at 78-73 with just over seven minutes to play.
Steve Kerr’s side kept surging in a 11-4 run — capped off by a James layup —to tie the scores inside the last four minutes.
“It’s unravelling for Serbia,” Australian legend Andrew Gaze said on Channel 9 as Team USA’s superstars took over in the clutch.
It kept alive the United States’ quest for a fifth consecutive gold medal, facing host France in Sunday’s final.
Durant will go for his fourth gold, which would be a men’s record.
“Gotta get in the hard way. We was preaching that the whole fourth quarter,” James said in an oncourt TV interview.
“Beating a team three times in the last three weeks, we know it was gonna be difficult. We knew Serbia was gonna give us everything they had. Kudos to Serbia, but we came through.
“Chef Curry with a (great) Chef Curry game, Joel was big time for us. And we needed it, we needed it.”
Curry carried Team USA early, with 14 of their first 15 points for a quick two-point lead.
But they coughed up seven unanswered points, a Serbia run capped by Embiid throwing a bad pass for a turnover and uncontested basket going the other way.
The 31-23 deficit after one seemed surmountable, but that’s when Team USA let the game get away from them. They coughed up an 11-2 run to open the second quarter and fell behind by 17.
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Vasilije Micić banked in a three-pointer to push the lead to 39-25. Then, after Jokic blocked James at the rim, Micic found the three-time NBA MVP for an and-one.
That capped an 11-2 blitz and saw Jokic serenaded by chants of “MVP! MVP!” from the Parisian crowd in Bercy Arena.
Team USA trailed 42-25 with 6:25 left in the half, and spent the entire rest of the afternoon chasing.
It took them until the final moments to catch up.
It was sloppiness and turnovers that cost Team USA for most of the contest.
They clawed within 65-59, but they saw Marko Guduric’s 4-point play cap an 11-2 Serbia run and push their deficit back to 76-61 in the final minute of the third quarter.
It was a mountainous hill to climb, but Team USA did it.
After pulling with 84-80, Durant rebounded a Serbia miss and Embiid hit a fade over Jokic with four and a half minutes left.
-Parts of this story were originally published in The New York Post and reproduced with permission.
Stingers land final! US Champ STUNNED | 00:57
Earlier, host nation France fought off a late comeback from Germany to win 73-69 on Thursday and reach the final of the Olympic men’s basketball with four-time reigning champions the United States or Serbia lying in wait.
Guerschon Yabusele led Tokyo silver medallists France with 17 points and Isaia Cordinier added 16. Victor Wembanyama finished with 11 points despite another poor shooting performance.
France could meet Team USA on Saturday in a repeat of the final from three years ago if the heavily favoured Americans get past Nikola Jokic’s Serbia in the second semi-final later Thursday.
Germany were one of two remaining unbeaten teams but France set the record straight in Paris’ Bercy Arena after their 85-71 loss to the same opponents in the group stage in Lille.
“The players were just remembering how they were laughing last game, how easy it looked for them,” said Wembanyama.
“I’m sure losing that game in the group phase helped us win today, definitely.” Dennis Schroder led 2023 World Cup winners Germany with 18 points. Fritz Wagner was the only other player in double figures for a team that will seek the consolation of a first-ever Olympic medal in the third-place playoff.
“They were better than us today,” said Schroder. “At the end of the day we wanted to get a medal here and that’s still open.” Germany, just as they did in the previous clash, moved into an early lead with Schroder and Wagner quickly finding their touch.
The Germans moved 28-18 in front after a three from Nick Weiler-Babb to open the second quarter, but France flipped the momentum their way as Wembanyama made his mark.
He opened his account with a shot off the glass and then stonewalled Germany centre Daniel Theis, energising the packed crowd and raising the decibel levels further with a three-point play.
France ended the half with a flourish and Wembanyama’s dunk tied the game at 33 apiece.
Nicolas Batum nailed a three-pointer to put France ahead for the first time to begin the second half, with Yabusele getting into the act as well.
Yabusele, top scorer with 22 points in the quarter-final victory over Canada, carried his team with a series of baskets, but Schroder replied in equal measure.
With the lead switching back and forth in a gripping third quarter, France surged six points clear when Evan Fournier rattled in a shot from beyond the arc.
France went into the final period leading 56-50 and looked to have left Germany in the rear view mirror thanks to a three from Wembanyama followed by a bucket from Mathias Lessort.
Another Wembanyama block on Schroder resulted in Frank Ntilikina knocking down a three in transition to put France 13 points in front.
Germany refused to roll over and France struggled to make the game safe, Wagner netting a long three to slash the deficit to two with just under 40 seconds to play.
Wagner crucially lost his balance though after hauling down a rebound in a one-possession game.
Wembanyama missed the chance to ice the game by hitting only one free throw, but Cordinier was less forgiving from the foul line as France sealed a return to the final to the delight of the home crowd.
Source Agencies
