Paris 2024: Steph Curry stars as USA overturn 17-point deficit to avoid shock Serbia semi-final exit
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Published 08/08/2024 at 22:53 GMT+1
The United States men are by far the most successful nation in Olympics basketball, winning 16 gold medals with the now defunct Soviet Union their closest challengers on two. But they were minutes away from suffering a shock defeat to one-time silver medallists Serbia. Steph Curry sunk 36 points and LeBron James recorded a triple-double to keep their hopes of a fifth consecutive gold medal alive.
'Nearly an upset for the ages' - USA scrape past inspired Serbia
Video credit: TNT Sports
Steph Curry spared Team USA's blushes as they avoided a shock defeat to Serbia in the Olympic semi-finals.
Coming back from 17 points down, Curry sunk 36 points in the dramatic 95-91 win, the second-highest scoring game from an individual in the United States' Olympic history.
LeBron James recorded a regal triple-double, becoming the first player ever to complete the feat twice at an Olympics.
And Curry stressed the enormity of a fifth consecutive gold medal spurred them on to a "special" victory.
"We talked about it the whole way, all summer," said Curry. "No matter how it looked, we were going to be challenged at some point.
"Outside of the exhibition series we had a pretty smooth road. Serbia are tough. They're a great team.
"Playing them three times, it's always hard to beat a team that many times, so to come back the way we did was amazing.
"We have no quit and we know how much this means to win a gold medal with this group and the moment we have in front of us.
"Obviously I hit the big three, but our defence carried us. Defence wins games in any league, especially in FIBA, so it was pretty special."
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James echoed Curry's sentiments on the strength of the opposition, who almost handed the USA just their seventh defeat in 150 Olympic matches.
"Give a lot of credit to Serbia," James said. "They gave us everything they had. It's a great team. They played exceptionally well.
"They tested us and we needed that."
Having topped the podium on 16 occasions, with closest challengers the now-defunct Soviet Union on two, the USA were on the brink of missing out on an Olympic final for the first time since Athens 2004.
From 17 points down inside the second quarter to 12 points down at half-time, USA still did not kick into gear until late in the fourth.
The third quarter ended 76-63 to the underdogs, but a stunning run of 24-8 brought them back into the lead with two and a half minutes remaining.
Hosts France await USA in the gold-medal match on Saturday, August 10.
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