US men’s basketball team rallies to beat Serbia in Paris Olympics

PARIS (AP) — They scored six factors in two seconds. And similar to that, in opposition to what regarded like overwhelming odds, the U.S. Olympic males’s basketball crew was on its means.

To a comeback. To a win. And to a different Olympic gold medal recreation.

Stephen Curry scored 36 factors, together with a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:16 left, and the U.S. will play for gold within the Paris Olympics on Saturday night time after beating Serbia 95-91. The U.S. trailed by 17 factors within the first half, plus confronted an 11-point halftime deficit — the most important one efficiently overcome by an American crew since NBA gamers had been added to the Olympic combine in 1992.

“I’ve seen lots of Workforce USA basketball,” Curry stated. “And that was a particular one.”

Serbia led by 11 with 7:19 left. The remainder of the way in which, all U.S. The People gained a recreation the place they led for 3 minutes and 25 seconds. Serbia led for 35:12 — almost 90% of the sport.

Nevertheless it’ll be the U.S. in opposition to host France for gold in a dream matchup for the host nation on Saturday, whereas Serbia will face Germany earlier Saturday for bronze. The gold-medal recreation is a rematch from the Tokyo Video games three years in the past, the place the People prevailed 87-82.

“I’m actually humbled to have been part of this recreation,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr stated, tipping his hat a number of instances to Serbia. “It’s one of many best basketball video games I’ve ever been part of. They had been excellent. They performed an ideal recreation. Our coaches had been saying, Villanova-Georgetown, for all of our older readers and viewers on the market.

“However they they performed the right recreation, and so they compelled us to achieve the very best degree of competitors that we might discover. And our guys had been unimaginable in that fourth quarter, and so they acquired it completed.”

Joel Embiid scored 19 factors on 8 for 11 capturing and LeBron James added 16 for the U.S., which is now assured of its twentieth medal in 20 Olympic appearances.

“Joel was all the things,” James stated. “Made each huge shot.”

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 20 factors for Serbia, which acquired 17 from Nikola Jokic and 15 from Aleksa Avramovic. The Serbians had been 0-3 in opposition to the U.S. this summer time, getting blown out within the first two conferences after which trying poised for a win of their very own on Thursday.

The entire recreation modified within the fourth after a wild sequence noticed the U.S. rating six factors in two seconds. Kevin Durant made a 3-pointer whereas Anthony Davis was getting fouled. The U.S. acquired one other possession, and off the inbounds Devin Booker made one other 3-pointer.

Identical to that, a 78-67 lead for Serbia was right 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 recreation and the People escaped.

Curry’s 36 factors had been the second-most in a recreation by a U.S. males’s participant in Olympic historical past, one shy of Carmelo Anthony’s file 37 in opposition to Nigeria in 2012. And Anthony, sitting courtside, was Curry’s largest cheerleader. When the People tied it with about 3:35 left, Curry gave Anthony an enormous smile. When the go-ahead 3 rattled dwelling, Anthony leaped from his seat. And when it was over, the 2 shared a protracted embrace.

“That was a godlike efficiency,” Durant stated of Curry.

Serbia coach Svetislav Petic stored saying the identical factor all summer time, that the crew the U.S. put collectively for the Paris Video games was higher than any in Olympic historical past. Even the Dream Workforce, he insisted. His thoughts wasn’t modified after this one.

“They’re that good,” he stated.

A barrage of Serbian 3-pointers had the People squarely on the ropes, till the sport modified within the fourth. However in the long run, the U.S. improved to 144-6 all-time in Olympic play, 63-4 since NBA gamers had been added to the Olympics in 1992.

“Perseverance, arduous work dedication, Chef Curry and Joel ‘Course of’ Embiid,” James stated. “Large-time win for us. We knew we had been going to be challenged. We knew it was going to be the hardest recreation thus far. Complete effort.”

The comeback stored Durant’s hopes of turning into the primary four-time Olympic males’s gold medalist very a lot alive, and gave the U.S. an opportunity to return to the worldwide basketball mountaintop. The People had been fourth on the World Cup final summer time, a consequence that spurred some NBA stars like James and Curry to be a part of this crew.

And of all of the U.S. semifinal moments, this was like few others. The four-point closing margin was the second closest in American historical past within the Olympic semifinals; the U.S. beat Lithuania by two within the 2000 semifinals in Sydney, on the way in which to gold there.

They’re one win away from one other.

“I’m 39 years previous, going into my twenty second season, I don’t know what number of alternatives and moments I’m going to get like this to compete for one thing, compete for one thing huge and play in huge video games,” James stated. “And tonight was an enormous recreation.”

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