PARIS — Stephen Curry exploded for 36 points, Joel Embiid lived up to his potential in the middle of Team USA's star-studded lineup and the Americans overcame extraordinary odds to defeat Serbia 95-91 on Thursday and reach the Olympic gold-medal round.
The United States, which will play France in a rematch of the Tokyo Olympics final, trailed by as many as 17 points to Serbia and were down by 14 with just a few seconds left in the third period. The Americans can win their fifth consecutive gold on Saturday.
Steph Curry also spoke about Team USA's belief after the comeback win: "Just know who we are as a team. We know we weren't playing our best basketball at all in the whole game. We were like two or three possessions away, or one bad bounce away, from soaking the momentum. We could feel that.
"There was a point at the end of the third quarter where you're starting to feel a little like, not is it their night, but are they going to slow down at all? They hit some tough shots. That first four minutes in the fourth quarter, it changed everything.
"We were talking about it our whole prep, defense is going to fuel us. We are going to score enough points, but can you get enough stops against whoever you're playing? For three quarters we didn't, and then we figured it out."
On what the mood was like at halftime and during timeouts in the third quarter: "Really calm. No panic, really. We're all over the place on the floor, but there's a lot of good, positive self-talk on the bench. And at half time, it was, you know, we know what we need to do."
On who helped them stay calm: "Some are more vocal than others, but we're all kind of very connected. The buy-in is there, and it's the only way you can do it to win. Hopefully we have another win on Saturday and you can look back at this game as the one that challenged us and tested us and the one you'll remember just because of the circumstances, being down the entire game and having to come back."
Stephen Curry spoke about how the United States turned the game around: "Our defence came alive in the fourth quarter. We put a very athletic lineup out there with me, Book, KD, LeBron and AD to get it started, to give ourselves some life.
"Joel came in, hit some big shots. Lebron got to the basket. Book hit a big three at the top of key that kind of got us going. And once you have life on defence, it usually fuels your offence because you get stops and the game starts to connect.
"They came out and hit some amazing and tough shots in the first half and got to credit them. They're a really good team. It's hard to beat a team three times, but to come back the way we did, like I've seen a lot of Team USA basketball, that was special."
On his contribution with 36 points: "Whatever the game asked for. I haven't had many opportunities and haven't shot the ball well the whole tournament, but it doesn't waver your confidence to meet the moment and I had some great looks to start the game.
"Knocking down kept the rhythm flowing and then the one in the fourth quarter, Joel set a great screen, thankfully they didn't call that flop because it was bad, and then knocking down a big shot like that. You live for those moments.
"It don't matter if you shoot three times or however many shots a night, but you stay calm."
On his struggles in the first four games: "I didn't feel much like that at all because we're winning by, whatever, 15, 20 every game and I know I affect the game in other ways. But about two minutes into the game tonight ... I realised I'm getting looks. They're playing a different type of defense on us ... It's whatever the game calls for.
"I shot three times last game, and I wasn't looking to force it because that's not what the game called for. So that's the beauty of Team USA and FIBA and this whole experience. Every game has been somebody different, and it's going to be somebody different, and hopefully with everybody contributing on Saturday."
U.S. head coach Steve Kerr spoke after the game: "Serbia was brilliant today. I'm really humbled to have been a part of this game. It's one of the greatest basketball games I've ever been a part of.
"They were perfect. They played a perfect game. They forced us to reach the highest level of competition we could find and our guys were incredible in that fourth quarter, and they got it done.
"I'm so proud of the team and as I said, humbled just by being part of it. Just an incredible competition.
"We knew coming into this tournament that there's always going to be a game like this. It's the Olympics. FIBA. Forty minutes. One game and you're out. You're not going to breeze through this tournament. We knew that. I have that experience from Tokyo when I was an assistant. You have to be able to maintain your poise, and that's what impressed me the most in the second half was just the poise of our guys, combined with the competitive spirit to get it done.
"Over 40 minutes, our talent wore them down. They were brilliant. They made everything. But we always feel like we have the deepest team.
"The other countries, they all have great players now. But we have the most great players. And we feel confident over 40 minutes that will play itself out. That was dicey for most of the night."
On Steph Curry's performance: "I've seen Steph do this over and over again. Everybody on our team and on the coaching staff knew he was going to have a game. It was just a matter of time.
"It didn't surprise me it came on the night we desperately needed it. That's who Steph is. He is the ultimate competitor. He loves a big moment. He was incredible tonight.
"He works so hard. There were times these last couple of weeks when I thought he was working too hard. He willed himself to that game tonight with the work he has put in."
After the game, several members of Team USA looked ahead to their matchup against France in Saturday's gold medal final.
LeBron James: "Super competitive. Obviously, this is Wemby's first Olympics, but that team has been playing together for quite a while. They've been feeding off the crowd, so we look forward to that matchup."
Kevin Durant: "That's going to be the most-watched game, I feel like, since I've been playing in FIBA. I'm excited for it, I'm excited for that challenge, and we all are."
Devin Booker: “This is what everybody wants, right? So it’s going to be a fun one. It's electric in there. Their crowd has been electric even when France isn't playing against us, so I can only imagine how it's going to be Saturday.”
Steph Curry: "They're on their own turf. They've changed their rotation a little bit in the last couple of games and this works. Everybody's playing extremely well. Wemby can go off anytime, (Evan) Fournier has been hitting some big shots. So I know they're going to feed off the home energy. We have to get off to a better start than we did tonight."
Kevin Durant also spoke about his slow start to the game: "I had two fouls, so I didn't play much. I felt like I was floating in and out of the game when I was in there. They did a good job of playing a zone and throwing us off a bit."
On Steph Curry's performance: "Steph, man that was a God-like performance, because he felt like he was struggling throughout the whole tournament. And we always said, 'Each night it could be somebody different.' And tonight he showed up.
"Shot after shot, getting a steal at the end, finishing with the layup. He was everywhere tonight. It was one of the greatest games I've ever seen him play."
On trailing for most of the game: "We tried not to get too discouraged. Late in the third quarter they hit us pretty hard, we got down 15, 14 points, but we just kept pushing. We were able to pressure them, get them to miss shots, and we were out on the break."
On why he loves playing at the Olympics: "I love representing my country. We love playing for our country. A lot of bullshit goes on in our country, too, but there's a lot of great things that come from where we come from.
"We love the brotherhood that comes with (USA Basketball). These experiences, we're going to remember them for the rest of our lives, so we want to make the most of it."
Lebron James also spoke about Joel Embiid's performance after the game: "Joel was everything. He made every big shot that we needed throughout that run. When they kept making shots, Joel kept making plays."
Kevin Durant hailed Embiid as well: "He showed why he's one of the greatest ever to touch a basketball. He was finishing over the rim, knocking down shots, putting those guys in foul trouble. He was incredible tonight."
After the game, LeBron James spoke about how his team rallied to pull off this win: "Perseverance, hard work, dedication. It was Chef Curry, Joel "Process" Embiid.
"Big-time win for us. We knew we were going to be challenged, we knew it was going to be the toughest game up to date, but it was a true total effort."
On whether he was angry during the game: "Not angry. It's all about competitive flow, competitive juices, and just trying to get everything as close to perfection as possible."
On driving hard to the rim at the end of the game: "Always trying to be aggressive, make plays for our team. Try to do a little bit of everything out on the floor. My teammates believe in me, and I was able to come through for them."
On where winning this game ranks in his career: "It's up there. I'm 39 years old, going into my 22nd season. I don't know how many opportunities and moments I'm going to get like this to be able to compete for something, compete for something big and play in big games, and tonight was a big game."
The odds for the gold medal game are out and the spread implies Serbia was a tougher opponent for the United States than France will be.
France is getting a home-court boost, but the U.S. is still a bigger favorite than it was against Nikola Jokić's team.
Remember when LeBron left France off his list of teams that had impressed him, then was critical of their lack of physicality against Germany last week?
It sure seems like Guerschon Yabusele does.
"No disrespect to anybody else, but we might be the only team that can compete against (Team USA) just in terms of physicality."
A spicy Olympic gold-medal rematch awaits.
Bogdan Bogdanović also commented on whether he thought the officiating was fair in this game: “We tried to talk to them and they did not try to talk to us. (The U.S.) did not need that type of help against us. We did not have that type of help when they were grabbing us with two hands."
Of course, South Sudan vehemently felt that the officiating favored Serbia when they lost to them.
After the game, Bogdan Bogdanović spoke about what made the difference between winning and losing: “A couple of easy turnovers, transition buckets, some calls. That is it.
“I still believe that we could have won this game, a couple of possessions, a call goes our way, a couple of shots. But that is basketball. You should be proud even if you lose a game like this.”
On whether he believes that was the best game ever by the Serbian national team: “It is hard to say anything when you lose. When you lose at the end, that is what it shows. We play for the scoreboard. You can have the best game of your life, but if you lose, you are a loser.
“But I feel we are not losers. We showed we can compete against the best teams in the world and I just wish we won. We did some good things but we lost. In two days we have to recover and fight for the bronze.”
On what a bronze medal would signify: “Success of all this preparation time. It will be tough against Germany, but we need to recover and play the best game that we can.”
Brilliant reaction shots of the United States' victory continue to roll in.
Three were obvious: LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry. Joel Embiid subbed in for Anthony Davis at the 7:19 mark and played the rest of the game.
The sixth might be a bit of a surprise: Devin Booker. The Suns' guard has emerged as Team USA's glue guy this tournament, earning a place in the starting lineup over established stars like Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards and others. In that fourth quarter, Booker showed why. He set the tone early with terrific perimeter defense and kept that up throughout Team USA's run. He won't get any attention for his play, but he was a huge part of Team USA's comeback as well.
The Suns will need Booker to channel this experience next season to maximize a roster overstuffed with ball-handlers.
Back in 2016, the Celtics began to build their championship core by selecting Jaylen Brown with the third pick in the NBA draft. But he wasn’t the only player they thought could be a part of their future that night. Guerschon Yabusele, who has been a key part of France’s march to the Olympics final, became a Celtic with the 16th pick that night. The next year, Boston drafted Jayson Tatum and the rest was history. But Yabusele wasn’t a part of that journey, appearing in just 74 regular season games over two seasons before leaving the NBA for China. Since then, he’s become a starter for Real Madrid and is putting up big numbers for Team France. Now he’ll face his former teammate Jayson Tatum in the gold medal game. Ironically, now it’s Yabusele, not Tatum, that is a lock to see the floor.
The United States and France will face off in the gold medal final at 3:30pm ET on Saturday.
It will be their 13th meeting all-time, with the U.S. holding a 10-2 head-to-head advantage. They played twice at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, with France winning 83-76 in the group stage before the U.S. got revenge 87-82 in the final.
They also met in the Olympic final in 1948 and 2000, the U.S. winning both of those as well.
The Americans are going for their fifth straight gold medal, while France is looking to win gold for the first time ever.
We will not soon forget this Steph Curry and LeBron James game. That was a masterclass.
Others played well, but this game is going to be defined by Steph and LeBron. They were the two best players. Steph had 36. LeBron had 16/12/10 and guarded Nikola Jokić the entire fourth quarter.
There were many contributions, but this was Steph and LeBron’s game
Nikola Jokić missed all six three-pointers he attempted today, while Bogdan Bogdanović finished the game 3-for-10 from range despite his hot start.
LeBron James, who ended with a triple double of 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, told NBC's Zora Stephenson that they expected to get Serbia's best and had to dig deep to get the win.
He was also thrilled to get the Steph Curry Game.
"It was only a matter of time before he had one of these games. We can see it every day. He puts too much work in to not have a game like this."
Team USA won this one and are the gold medal favorites ahead of their faceoff with France, but I left this game with another thought. Could this be the last Olympics before we see a changing of the guard in international men's basketball? Team USA was led by its graybeards in this one — LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry — and it took EVERYTHING to avoid an upset against Serbia. But it's clear how much closer the rest of the world is inching to Team USA in men's basketball.
Why? Yes, those countries are producing more NBA players on their own but America no longer has the very best player either. We saw that today with Nikola Jokić. That will make the 2028 Olympics so interesting. LeBron (he'll be 43), Steph (40) and KD (39) will no longer be around. It will be on the next American generation to keep it going. Jokic will still be in his prime. Victor Wembanyama will just be entering his right as a class of young French players hit the NBA and may give that country its most talented team yet. And it'll be happening in Los Angeles.
It may be too early to look at 2028 but I wonder if Team USA will win gold on its home turf.
