U.S. men's basketball rallies past Serbia, will play host France for gold medal

U.S. men’s basketball rallies past Serbia, will play host France for gold medal

Posted by Admin August 8, 2024 NBA

PARIS — Kevin Durant and Devin Booker hit consecutive 3-pointers on the same possession Thursday, sparking a massive fourth quarter American rally and an eventual 95-91 semifinal victory over Serbia.

The U.S. will go on to play France for the gold medal Saturday at 9:30 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. ET. Serbia will play Germany for the bronze medal Saturday at 11 a.m. local time, 5 a.m. ET.

Durant’s first long-range shot with 7:19 left in regulation pulled the Americans to within 78-70, giving the U.S. a spark of life that had been missing all night at Bercy Arena.

And as he was launching the jumper, Serbia’s Nikola Jokic fouled Anthony Davis. Possession stayed with the Americans and momentum swung when Booker connected moments later.

Steph Curry rattled home a 3-pointer with 2:24 left to put the United States, which trailed by as much as 17 points, ahead 87-86 — a lead the Americans would not relinquish.

Curry and LeBron James followed with back-to-back fast-break layups and the U.S. never looked back. Curry led all scorers with 36 points on 12-for-19 shooting from the floor.

“We have one goal out here and that’s to bring home gold,” Booker told reporters after the game. “So down, I think, 17 or 18 and climbed our way up out of a hole … we knew this was going to be a test tonight.”

Jokic, the Serbian star and reigning NBA MVP, added 17 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in defeat.

Even though the team was down for almost the game, U.S. big Joel Embiid said he never lost hope and knew it’d take just one spark to get the Americans rolling.

“We were just sticking around,” he said. “We made a couple stops and went in transition.”

Embiid, who was born in Cameroon and once considered playing for France, was booed by fans every time he touched the ball.

The Philadelphia 76ers star insists he’s fond of France and receives the fans’ boos as their form of “love” toward him.

“It’s going to be fun,” Embiid said of Saturday’s title game. “The banter against the fans that’s love, that’s respect to me.”