NBA All-Star Devin Booker proves indispensable for Team USA
Phoenix Suns All-Star Devin Booker plays multiple roles for Team USA and is looking to win his second consecutive Olympic gold medal in Paris this summer.
Stephen Curry has finally arrived.
Team USA barely survived.
Curry scored 36 points and made 9 of 14 three-pointers to lead the Americans to a 95-91 comeback victory over Serbia in the semifinals of the men’s tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Thursday.
“To come back like we did,” Curry said after the game. “I’ve seen a lot of Team USA basketball, and that was special.”
Trailing by as many as 17 points, Team USA will play Olympic host nation France for the gold medal on Saturday (12:30 p.m. MST, 3:30 p.m. ET, on NBC).
In his first Olympics, Curry scored 29 points in the U.S. national team’s first four games on 10-of-28 shooting and 5-of-20 three-pointers. He topped all of those numbers on Thursday when he hit his final three-pointer, off an assist from LeBron James, to give the U.S. national team a final 87-86 lead with 2:24 left in the game in front of 12,213 fans at Bercy Arena.
“I haven’t had many chances and I haven’t shot well all tournament,” Curry said. “But it doesn’t take away your confidence to seize the moment and I had some great chances early in the game. I knocked them down, kept the rhythm and did it in the fourth quarter.”
Curry’s late three-pointer started an 11-5 final score for the US team. The Americans defeated Serbia 32-15 in the fourth quarter. Curry finished the game with two free throws with eight seconds left.
Joel Embiid scored 19 points and four rebounds in his match against fellow NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, who finished the game with 17 points, 11 assists, five rebounds and four fouls.
James delivered a triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
“I tried to be aggressive, make plays for our team, do a little bit of everything on the field and my teammates believed in me,” James said. “It’s good to be tested. It’s great to be tested. And our ultimate goal is just one game away, so we’re excited for Saturday’s game.”
For 39-year-old James, who is competing in his fourth Olympic Games, it was his second triple-double in an Olympic competition. The two-time Olympic champion is the first player to achieve multiple triple-doubles at the Olympic Games.
“I’m in my 22nd (NBA) season,” James said. “I don’t know how many more opportunities and moments like this I’m going to get to be part of big games, and (Thursday) was a big game for us.”
When does Team USA play next? Schedule, TV and streaming of the 2024 Olympic Games
The United States had been in control in its two previous meetings with Serbia this summer, winning an exhibition game and the Olympic group match by 26 points. That was certainly not the case in Thursday’s semifinal.
Serbia sank 10 of 19 three-pointers in the first half, putting them ahead by 11 points, and was able to extend their lead until the fourth quarter, but could not fend off Team USA in the final minutes of the game.
“We knew before the tournament that there would always be games like this,” said Steve Kerr, coach of the U.S. team. “It’s the Olympics, FIBA, 40 minutes. … One game and you’re out. We knew this tournament was not going to be a tournament that you just run through. I had that experience from Tokyo when I was an assistant there. You have to be able to keep your composure, and that’s what impressed me most in the second half, just the composure of our guys combined with the fighting spirit to get it done.”
Kevin Durant contributed nine points, all of which came in the second half after making just one shot in the first half.
Seeking to win his fourth Olympic gold medal in men’s basketball, Durant forced a turnover by Bogdan Bogdanovic that was called for a backcourt connection when the U.S. team led 91-86 with 1:32 left in the game.
Then the Americans clung to a two-point lead when Durant made a jumper off a crossover dribble to give Team USA a 93-89 lead with 34 seconds left.
Durant finished the game as a substitute with Devin Booker, James, Curry and Embiid. Booker, who started every Olympic game for the U.S. team this summer, finished with just six points on 2-of-4 shooting, but had the second-best plus/minus for the Americans at plus-16.
Curry had the highest rating at plus-20. Team USA won for the second time at the Olympic Games without Jayson Tatum. He also did not play in the group opener against Serbia.
The U.S. team is making its 17th appearance in the gold medal game and will be hoping to win its fifth consecutive gold medal on Saturday when it faces France, which beat Germany 73-69 in the first semifinal game. This will be a rematch of the gold medal game at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was played in 2021 amid the pandemic.
Durant scored 29 points and led Team USA to an 87-82 victory in this game.
Have an opinion on the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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