Stephen Curry saves American basketball dynasty in tight win over Serbia

PARIS — The U.S. men’s basketball dynasty nearly fell amid a storm of Serbian three-pointers and a flood of questionable coaching decisions, but Stephen Curry wouldn’t let it happen. After falling into a 17-point hole in the first half Thursday, the Americans rallied in the fourth quarter to steal a 95-91 victory over Nikola Jokic and Serbia at Bercy Arena. Though they trailed for more than 35 minutes of the 40-minute game, the Americans will play France on Saturday for a chance to win their fifth straight Olympic gold medal. Within a few minutes, the good feelings from the United States’ blowout win over Brazil in the quarterfinals had already become a distant memory. Curry provided nearly all the Americans’ offense early on, scoring 14 of the U.S. team’s first 15 points en route to a game-high 36 points and an astonishing nine three-pointers. With the game on the line late, Curry rattled in a three-pointer, converted a transition layup and made two free throws to bring home the win. Advertisement Remarkably, Curry scored more points and made more three-pointers against Serbia than he had in the Americans’ four previous games at the Olympics combined. “I haven’t shot the ball well the whole time here, but it doesn’t waver your confidence to meet the moment,” Curry said. You live for those moments.” Any U.S. loss in the Olympics would be stunning, but this one would have been doubly so given that the Americans had blown out Serbia twice previously this summer and were 15.5-point favorites. The U.S. team scored a 105-79 win in a July 17 exhibition in Abu Dhabi and a 110-84 victory in a July 28 group play game in Lille, France, but the third time almost proved to be the charm for the Serbians. “Our coaches were saying Villanova-Georgetown, for all of our older readers and viewers,” U.S. Coach Steve Kerr said, referencing the famous upset in the 1985 NCAA championship game. They forced us to reach the highest level of competition that we could find.” Advertisement The U.S. team’s uncharacteristic reliance upon a single star early in the game — rather than the more balanced scoring approach the Americans had displayed throughout the tournament — was a red flag that ceded control to Serbia. With Jokic, the three-time NBA MVP, playing setup man, the Serbians shot 9 for 19 on three-pointers to build a 42-25 lead midway through the second quarter. The third quarter was classic push and pull: The United States cut Serbia’s lead to six points thanks to back-to-back three-pointers by Curry and Jrue Holiday. Yet the Serbians kept coming, getting a four-point play from Marko Guduric to take a 76-63 lead heading into the final period. Advertisement “[We were] eerily calm,” Curry said. We could feel it.” Kerr, who hasn’t always coaxed maximum effectiveness from a roster that boasts 11 NBA all-stars, kept Durant out of his starting lineup, as he had throughout the tournament. Durant, the program’s leading scorer, was scoreless at halftime and finished with nine points. While Embiid turned in his best performance of the tournament, Davis never found a rhythm, and Edwards managed just two points on three shots. Advertisement play Play now NaN min Follow on Podcast episode Spotify Apple Google Amazon “Everybody on our team knew [Curry] was going to have a game,” Kerr said. That’s who Steph is.” Durant and Booker hit back-to-back three-pointers within seconds of each other early in the fourth quarter to bring the U.S. team back in striking distance. When the Americans pulled within five points midway through the period, chants of “U-S-A” swelled through the crowd. Jokic finished with 17 points, five rebounds and 11 assists, while the Serbians shot 15 for 39 (38.5 percent) on three-pointers. Embiid, who finished with 19 points and four rebounds, cut the lead to two points with a turnaround jumper with a little more than four minutes remaining. Curry handled it from there, scoring seven points in the final two-plus minutes to earn hearty, relieved hugs from James and Durant after the buzzer finally sounded. Advertisement “Steph, man, that was a godlike performance,” Durant said. We’re going to remember these experiences for the rest of our lives.” The U.S. team’s reward after improving to 5-0: a gold medal date with France, which beat Germany, 73-69, earlier Thursday. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2024/08/08/usa-basketball-vs-serbia-win-stephen-curry-olympic-semifinal/