USA Men’s Basketball Team: Devin Booker and Steph Curry lift the team
Steph Curry praises Booker and gives the team momentum
Team USA took the uncomfortable feeling of trailing for most of Thursday’s Olympic semifinal match against Serbia and turned it into a spirited fourth-quarter comeback victory that will be remembered forever.
“I think when Devin Booker hit the 3 at the top of the free throw line, I felt the momentum shift and from there we capitalized on it,” Stephen Curry said Friday. “It seemed like everyone made the shot they needed and we got the stops we needed. The only thing we didn’t do was we didn’t get rebounds, but it was like a sequence of plays that just built confidence and momentum.”
Curry hopes the U.S. team can build on the final score of its 95-91 thriller and play a complete game in Saturday’s gold medal clash against hosts France at the 2024 Paris Olympics at Bercy Arena.
“Everyone worked together, nothing was forced,” Curry said. “When we can use that, we’re the best version of ourselves. Hopefully we can do that for 40 minutes tomorrow and not just 10.”
This is arguably Team USA’s most talented squad, dating back to the legendary 1992 Dream Team led by Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley, which included 11 Hall of Famers.
Curry knows what a win – or loss – on Saturday would mean from a historical perspective as the U.S. team strives to win its fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal.
“You don’t want to be on the team that can’t get it done,” Curry said.
In the semifinals on Thursday, the Americans were close to being eliminated.
They trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half and were down 13 points after three quarters.
With a chance at a gold medal on the line, the U.S. team responded by defeating Serbia 32-15 in the fourth period and finishing the game with LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, Curry and Booker.
“This is how we all come together on the other side of the world,” Durant said after the game. “Now the USA chants start, our section starts with USA. This was special tonight. So we have to celebrate. I’m not going to pretend we want to win gold, but we have to celebrate the little moments too.”
Durant gave Team USA a 93-89 lead (four points) with 34 seconds left. Team USA led for just three minutes and 45 seconds in the 40-minute game, but delivered when it mattered most.
“I guarantee everyone here will never forget this night,” Durant continued, sitting next to his mother, Wanda Durant, eating a meal when USA Basketball released the video. “Everyone will remember this night for the rest of their lives. That’s how special this is and how we came back and showed how together we were in the fourth quarter.”
Team USA will look to cap off the win on Saturday against France, which has already eliminated two undefeated teams in Canada and Germany en route to the gold medal game.
“It’s been very impressive to watch their team evolve,” said Steve Kerr, coach of the US team. “They change their style on the fly. They’re very physical. They play extremely hard. That’s what stands out on the video. How hard they play on both sides.”
Kerr and Curry watched the conclusion of France’s 73-69 semifinal victory over Germany from the tunnel before the U.S. team faced Serbia. Spurs 7-foot-4 wunderkind Victor Wembanyama is the face of a French team that features several players playing at a high level as it heads to the gold medal game.
“We have to be prepared for that physicality and that power,” Kerr added. “We have to not only keep up, but exceed it. That’s the challenge.”
This is a rematch of the 2020 gold medal game in Tokyo, which the U.S. team won 87-82 in 2021 amid the pandemic. Durant led the Americans with 29 points.
Kerr gave Team USA Friday off to “refill” the trophy before Saturday’s final.
“Get some sleep, eat well and get ready for the gold medal game. That’s where we want to be, but today is definitely a recovery day,” Kerr said. “Then we have a shootaround late in the game tomorrow. I think everyone will get more sleep tonight and be prepared and ready to go, but today is about recovery and putting last night behind us and moving on to tomorrow.”
Saturday’s gold medal game begins at 12:30 p.m. MST (3:30 p.m. ET) and will be televised on NBC. The game will be streamed live on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.
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