TEAM USA avoided an embarrassing semi-final exit at the Paris Olympics, claiming a 95-91 victory after a great fourth quarter against Serbia.
The Americans will face France for the gold medal on Saturday.
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Steph Curry, 36, exploded for 36 points in his best game of the Paris Games, stepping up when his teammates needed him most.
LeBron James, 39, did it all on the court, finishing with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, becoming the only player to record multiple triple-doubles at the Olympics.
Nikola Jokic also displayed his versatile talent, recording 17 points, 11 assists, five rebounds, a steal and a block.
But most of the threat came from the Serbian backcourt of Bogdan Bogdanovic and Aleksa Avramovic, who had a combined 35 points and shot 7 of 16 from 3.
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Serbia came out on top at the Bercy Arena in Paris, France.
Nikola Jokic and company led by as many as 17 points in the first half before Team USA cut the lead to 54-43 at halftime.
The Serbs showed no signs of slowing down through 30 minutes of play, holding a double-digit lead as the pressure on the Americans mounted.
But the U.S. Avengers put on a heroic showing in the fourth quarter to claw their way out of trouble.
Having shrugged off early struggles in a matchup with Jokic, Joel Embiid – who would finish with 19 points, four rebounds and two assists – joined Curry and James in driving the team’s comeback.
He went 3-for-3 from the field in the final period, displaying his clutch gene when every possession mattered.
In the end, Team USA outscored Serbia 32-15 while shooting 70.6% from the field in the final period to complete the spectacular comeback.
James hugged Curry to show gratitude for his effort in a touching moment after the game.
“It was just a matter of time before he had one of those games,” LeBron later said of the Golden State Warriors star’s recovery.
“We can see it every day. He works hard to not have a game like this.”
James also said he didn’t mind being the Swiss army knife for Team USA.
“Whatever role the team needs me to play, I understand I need to do a little bit of everything,” James said.
France secured a place in the final earlier in the day, defeating Germany 73-69.
The host country will face Team USA in a rematch of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics final.
At that time, the Americans won 87-82.
The U.S. will have a chance to win its 17th Olympic gold in men’s basketball on Saturday.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
