With Olympic gold on the line, Steph Curry, LeBron James deliver for U.S.
PARIS – Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, cloaked in American flags, shared hugs with LeBron James as the final buzzer sounded and their tumultuous road to Olympic gold was finally complete.
The United States defeated France, 98-87, at Bercy Arena on Saturday, besting the host country in Paris to win its fifth straight gold medal at the Summer Games.
While the Americans never trailed after taking a 29-27 lead midway through the second quarter, the final was a spirited affair that saw the French get within three points in the game’s final three minutes. But Curry hit four late 3-pointers to seal the victory, celebrating each by shaking his USA jersey toward the crowd and putting his hands together next to his head in his signature “night night” motion.
Curry finished with a team-high 24 points on eight 3-pointers, leading four Americans in double figures. Durant, who set a program record by capturing his fourth gold medal, added 15 points. LeBron James had 14 points, six rebounds and nine assists.
“It’s everything I imagined and more, just the excitement of doing it with the guys in our locker room, we all signed up for the mission to continue USA basketball dominance,” Curry said. “Obviously I understood it was going to be a really tough task with some great teams that we’re going to have to face and there’s a sense of relief at the end, but it’s more a sense of accomplishment obviously knowing what we were able to do.”
The United States captured its 17th gold medal and its 20th medal in 20 Olympic appearances. With the victory, the Americans, who now boast a 149-6 record in the Olympics, remained undefeated in the knockout round since 2004 and undefeated in the medal round since 1972. The Americans, who went undefeated in Paris and won their six games by an average of 19 points, improved to 4-0 against France in gold medal games.
The basketball world – and a glitzy courtside row that included Carmelo Anthony, Scottie Pippen, Draymond Green, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and Thierry Henry – was treated to a riveting and well-played game from both teams. Victor Wembanyama, France’s 20-year-old sensation, made it clear immediately that he was ready for the big stage, making a three-pointer to open his team’s scoring and following it up quickly with a brilliant spinning dunk.
With the long and athletic Wembanyama off to a hot start, U.S. Coach Steve Kerr quickly pulled starting center Joel Embiid in favor of his more versatile options: Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo. Using similar logic, France Coach Vincent Collet used veteran center Rudy Gobert only in light doses, creating a fast and free game flow.
The United States and France met in the gold medal game three years ago in Tokyo, and the rematch had the feeling of a budding rivalry. Durant took a foul from Frank Ntilikina in the open court and immediately responded by getting into his face. Adebayo and Guerschon Yabusele had a charged confrontation of their own, and Embiid stood over Gobert after they became entangled underneath the hoop.
After entering the game as 16.5-point favorites, the Americans led 49-41 at halftime despite cold shooting from beyond the arc. Curry and Durant both needed a quarter to find their range, though Devin Booker filled in the gaps with a team-high 13 points and three 3-pointers in the first half. The United States finally opened a double-digit lead shortly before halftime, but Yabusele, France’s bruising forward, pounded away inside to counter the Americans’ rising momentum. Yabusele delivered the highlight of the night with a dunk over James that drew “M-V-P” chants from the French partisans.
Of course, the Americans countered with razzle dazzle of their own. James, dressed in golden sneakers, tossed a pretty behind-the-back pass to a cutting Booker for a layup, and Durant lobbed an alley-oop to Anthony Edwards, who soared high for a spectacular dunk. James, tasting victory, beelined to the rim for a thunderous slam midway through the fourth quarter, punishing France’s trapping defense.
France’s upset bid came up short because its guards and wings couldn’t support the productive duo of Wembanyama, who had a game-high 26 points and seven rebounds, and Yabusele, who added 20 points. Isaïa Cordinier, a breakout star in France’s knockout-round victories, was held scoreless, and veteran Evan Fournier didn’t get on the board until late in the third quarter.
This will not be remembered as a flawless run to gold for the United States, whose challenges began even before Kerr gathered the team for a training camp in Las Vegas in early July, as Durant suffered a minor calf injury that sidelined him for multiple weeks. When the four-day camp ended, the United States parted ways with Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, who was rehabilitating from a knee injury that sidelined him during the playoffs, and replaced him at the last minute with Derrick White.
While the United States defeated the talent-rich Canadians to open its 5-0 exhibition schedule, it hardly looked unbeatable as the rest of the tour, which included stops in Abu Dhabi and London, unfolded. The Americans appeared lackluster down the stretch against Australia, and they avoided a catastrophic exhibition loss against Olympics newcomer South Sudan thanks only to a layup by James in the closing seconds. Two days later, they had to work hard for a narrow win over Germany, the reigning FIBA World Cup champions, in their final tuneup.
Once they arrived in France, they navigated the back-and-forth logistics of traveling to Lille, near the Belgium border, with relative ease, scoring three blowout wins in pool play. The United States looked especially powerful in its debut against Serbia, overwhelming Nikola Jokic and company to get off on the right foot and claim the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed. James emerged as the team’s lead ballhandler and driving force, while a second unit led by Durant, Davis and Edwards impressed with its firepower.
Despite the one-sided victories, questions swirled over Kerr’s lineup decisions: starting Embiid over Davis, bringing Durant off the bench, and jettisoning Jayson Tatum from his rotation one month after the all-NBA forward won his first championship with the Boston Celtics. Embiid also faced regular booing from French fans chafed by his decision to play for the United States rather than France or Cameroon, where he also holds citizenships. Kerr stressed the importance of sacrifice while swatting away questions about his rotations, and Embiid repeatedly responded to the jeers by uncorking a crotch chopping gesture. In the final, Kerr finally moved Durant into his starting lineup and brought Tatum back into his rotation.
The United States began the knockout round by routing Brazil in the quarterfinals with their biggest win of the tournament, but the good times barely lasted. Jokic and the Serbians pushed the Americans to the brink in the semifinals, building a 17-point lead in the first half and carrying a 13-point edge into the fourth quarter. Curry, who led the way with 36 points and nine three-pointers, joined forces with James, Durant and Embiid to power an unforgettable comeback in a 95-91 victory that was the closest the U.S. has come to losing in the knockout round since 2004.
Yet the Americans’ work still wasn’t finished. After France produced an unexpected run to the gold medal game by dumping Gobert and Fournier from its starting lineup for the knockout round, the Americans found themselves dealing with the ultimate home court advantage.
Parker, the French basketball legend, welcomed the Paris crowd to Bercy Arena, rows of waving tricolor flags blanketed three sections of baseline seats and hundreds of Wembanyama’s No. 32 jersey were peppered throughout the crowd. L’Equipe, the French sports journal, hyped the final with the headline: “Once upon a time with the Americans.” Inside the arena, a giant banner read: “Rendezvous with history.”
The host’s swelled hopes went unfulfilled. The French went down like they had in Tokyo, just like the Serbians (2016) and the Spanish (2008 and 2012) before them. After Wenbamyama and his teammates clapped their appreciation to the Bercy Arena crowd, James, Durant and Curry – the three 30-somethings who starred in their first, and possibly last, Olympics together – prepared to savor the playing of the “Star-Spangled Banner.”