The US team was able to overcome a deficit of up to 17 points on Thursday and beat Serbia 95-91 in the semifinals of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. This means the team moves on to the gold medal game on Saturday.
The Americans had already beaten the Serbs twice this summer, each time by 26 points, but given what was at stake, things would be different this time.
And where would the U.S. team have been without Stephen Curry, who scored 14 of his team’s first 15 points in less than four minutes, setting a new Olympic career record? The Americans needed that early performance from the world’s all-time best shooter, as Serbia made 9 of 11 field goals and 5 of 6 three-pointers to start.
But despite Curry’s early start and the three points he scored before sitting down, the U.S. team trailed by 8 points after allowing 31 points in the first 10 minutes.
The Americans couldn’t get much going on offense early in the second quarter and were caught off guard by Serbia’s zone defense, which left them trailing by 17 points. Devin Booker cut to the basket and scored some of their first points of the quarter on an and-one from LeBron James, but there was still work to be done.
Even though the US team’s offense was slowly waking up, the defense continued to play risky, and Serbia continued to make them pay for it by sinking shots from distance. Former Suns draft pick Bogdan Bogdanovic was the biggest Serbian catalyst, scoring 20 points in three 3s and some fiery moments directed at Team USA legend Carmelo Anthony, who was sitting courtside.
Although the Americans were able to overcome a six-point deficit late in the third period, Serbia still maintained a 13-point lead in the final ten minutes and was on the verge of a monumental upset.
Trailing by eight points with less than eight minutes left on the clock, Booker broke free from the sideline on an off-court play and hit a three-pointer. Durant followed up with an elbow jumper on the next attempt. Joel Embiid scored the next three baskets to help Team USA get within two points of a Serbian group that didn’t let up on offense. He also made blocks to keep the distance.
Who else could have tied the game for Team USA if not Captain LeMerica himself, James, who went to the basket after an assist from Durant. Then it was Curry who hit another big three-pointer to take the lead. James scored the exclamation point right after that and Curry was able to break away for another two-pointer and after all that gave Team USA a 91-86 lead with about 100 seconds left.
Durant landed an isolation stab to take a four-point lead with 34 seconds left, and Curry made free throws within 10 seconds to seal the win. The U.S. team defeated Serbia 95-91 and advanced to the gold medal game.
The generational Big 3 of James, Curry and Durant put on a great performance when the Americans had their backs against the wall. James posted a triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, while Curry scored 36 points and Durant added nine, including seven huge points in the fourth inning.
France won the first semi-final match against Germany, which meant that Team USA and Host France will play for the gold medal in a rematch of the gold medal match at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics on Saturday at 12:30 p.m., while Germany and Serbia will play for the bronze medal.
