PARIS — The U.S. was in trouble against Serbia, and its streak of consecutive Olympic gold medals looked like might at end at four.
Then, the U.S. tightened its defense, found scoring at the right time and overcame a 17-point deficit to beat Serbia 95-91 in an intense and semifinals game Thursday.
After beating Serbia twice in the past three weeks – once in a friendly and once in group play at the Summer Games – the U.S. needed a massive fourth-quarter comeback to pull out a victory in one of the great Olympic basketball games and advance to the gold-medal game against France. The U.S. is going for its fifth consecutive Olympic gold.
"We knew it was going to be difficult," LeBron James said postgame. "We knew Serbia was going to give us everything they had."
The U.S. trailed Serbia 76-63 to start the fourth quarter and possession by possession wore down Serbia. Kevin Durant and Devin Booker started the comeback with consecutive 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter, and the U.S. unloaded its offensive firepower with four MVPs on the court: Durant, James, Steph Curry, and Joel Embiid alongside Booker.
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The U.S. used a 24-8 run to take a 91-86 lead with 1:41 left in the fourth quarter.
Curry was brilliant for the U.S., scoring a game-high 36 points on 12-for-19 shooting, the best game of the Olympics in a game where the U.S. desperately needed his scoring. James continued his stellar Olympic play and recorded a triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists and Embiid added 19 points, including seven in the fourth quarter.
"It was only a matter of time before he had one of these games," James said of Curry. "We could see it every day. He puts too much work in not to have a game like this. We wouldn’t want it any other way.
"It was the perfect time for Chef to come out and do what he did."
Serbia put together a fantastic game plan and made shots – including 15 3-pointers. Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had 17 points and 11 assists, and Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 20 points.
"I am really humbled to have been a part of this game," U.S. coach Steve Kerr said. "It's one of the greatest basketball games I've ever been a part of. They were perfect. They played the perfect game, and they forced us to reach the highest level of competition that we could find, and our guys were incredible in that fourth quarter and they got it done. I'm so proud of the team."
PARIS – The U.S. briefly cut into Serbia’s double-digit lead and had it down to a two-possession game – only to see Serbia’s lead grow to 76-63 after three quarters.
The U.S. has 10 minutes to make up a deficit in the semifinals if it wants to win a the gold-medal game for the fifth consecutive Olympics.
U.S. guard Steph Curry remained hot and has a game-high 27 points, but Serbia’s hot continued its strong offensive play. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Aleksa Avramovic each have 15 points, and Nikola Jokic has 11 points and 10 assists for Serbia which is 15-for-30 on 3-pointers.
PARIS – The U.S. suffered its largest deficit of the Olympics in the first half against Serbia and now faces its toughest test in the final two quarters of this semifinal matchup.
Serbia owns a 54-43 halftime lead and had a 42-25 lead in the second quarter. Strong 3-point shooting put Serbia in a favorable spot. It made 10-of-19 3-pointers, and shot 54% from the field.
The U.S. offense wasn’t bad – 48% from the field, 47% on 3-pointers – but it couldn’t keep up with Serbia’s shooting.
Steph Curry scored 17 of his 20 points in the first quarter, and LeBron James ended the half with nine points, five assists and three rebounds. Joel Embiid has seven points, and Jrue Holiday has five assists. Kevin Durant took just one shot in the first half and did not score. That will be worth watching in the second half as the U.S. tries to cut into the deficit.
Aleksa Avramovic has a team-high 15 points and has made four 3-pointers for Serbia. Bogdan Bogdanovic added 12 points, and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has nine points, seven assists and three rebounds.
PARIS — The U.S. is in a dangerous spot, trailing Serbia 42-25 with 6:24 left in the second quarter. It's the largest U.S. deficit of the Olympics and the Americans are shooting just 40% from the field, allowing 63% shooting.
PARIS – Serbia overcame Steph Curry’s hot shooting to open the game with hot 3-point shooting of its down for a 31-23 lead against the U.S. after one quarter.
Curry made five of his first six shots for 14 points and finished the quarter with a game-high 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting, including 5-for-7 on 3s. But Serbia countered Curry’s shooting with five 3-pointers in the quarter. Just four players have scored for the U.S. and only Curry has more than one make.
Aleksa Avramovic has eight points, and Nikola Jokic has six points and five assists for Serbia which had nine assists on 11 made shots.
PARIS — Steph Curry scored 14 of the first 15 U.S. points on 5-for-6 shooting. He made four of five 3s to start the game, but Serbia leads 23-18 with 3:45 left in the first quarter.
Serbia is torching the nets with the 3-point ball: 5-for-6 to start the game.
United States:
Serbia:
PARIS — LeBron James is wearing a large band-aid near his left eye in warmups ahead of the semifinals game against Serbia.
James took a left elbow to the eye area from Brazil’s Georginho De Paula with 5:41 left in the third quarter and the U.S. leading 74-51 in Tuesday's quarterfinals game. James said after the game he was fine.
The U.S. men’s 5x5 basketball team play Serbia for the third time in three weeks in the semifinals. The U.S. defeated Serbia 105-79 in a friendly July 17 and beat Serbia 110-84 July 28 in the first game of Group C play.
“Serbia is really good.” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said. “We can't get lulled to sleep because we beat them twice. We have to be prepared for their best effort. We've got to think about, what are they going to do differently?”
Serbia’s success revolves around two players – three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic. The U.S. wants to cut off Jokic’s passing lanes and keep Serbia from making too many 3s.
With its roster, the U.S. will put up points. It’s getting enough stops that will determine its success in the semifinals. It’s another important game for U.S. big men Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo.
Predictions:
Jeff Zillgitt: USA 91, Serbia 77
Dan Wolken: USA 83, Serbia 70
PARIS — LeBron James and Diana Taurasi know that by basketball standards, they’re old. They’re aware because, well, people won’t stop telling them.
That quip about them being the grandpa and grandma of Team USA? Been there. The comment about them being some of the most seasoned veterans at these games? They’ve heard it before. They are the elder statesman and stateswoman of USA Basketball, longtime pillars who are going for their third and sixth gold medals, respectively.
James and Taurasi’s Olympic connection is unique, too, because they both made their Olympic debut at the 2004 in Athens. James was 19 then, and Taurasi 22. Taurasi is quick to point out that James "skipped a couple," along the way though.
— Lindsey Schnell
The U.S. and Serbia tip off at 3 p.m. ET. USA Network is airing the game on television. The game will be live-streamed on Peacock or Fubo.
Here are the games the U.S. men have played so far.
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