USA basketball claims fifth straight Olympic gold medal with 98-87 win against France
Team USA has won a gold medal in basketball yet again as it staved off a late comeback effort from France on Saturday win earn a 98-87 victory. It is the fifth straight gold medal for the United States, which has dominated basketball on the international level over the past nearly three decades.
Stephen Curry came up in the clutch when his team needed him most, hitting several key 3-pointers down the stretch to pull away. He finished the game 8-of-13 from long range to lead the U.S. with 24 points as he earned his first gold medal. That included a dagger with 1:53 to go to make it a nine-point advantage.
He didn’t stop there, as he answered a 3-point from Nicolas Batum to cut it back down to six with another triple of his own. Victor Wembanyama then made a three again as France refused to go away, but Curry again put the dagger through the net to make it 96-87 with 35 seconds remaining.
“It’s right up there with all of the greatest games of his career,” Team USA head coach Steve Kerr said postgame. “The shot-making was just incredible under the circumstances. On the road in Paris against France for a gold medal. This is storybook stuff, but that’s what Steph does. He likes to be in storybooks.”
After trailing 49-41 at halftime, France chipped away slightly at the lead to make it 72-66 entering the fourth quarter. Guershon Yabusele and Wembanyama were the two main factors for the French in helping them stay in the game. They finished with a combined 46 points, more than half of France’s total for the game.
The French went on a 7-0 run in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit down to a single possession game when a shot from Wembanyama made it 82-79. However, it was again Curry who stepped up to stop with run with a 3-pointer, as four of his eight 3s on the day came in the final frame.
LeBron James finished with 14 points, 10 assists and six rebounds while Kevin Durant added 15 points for the U.S. Durant was already the all-time leading scorer in Team USA history and is now the only player to win four gold medals.
Things got off to a tightly contested start as the teams traded buckets early. The USA ended the opening quarter with a small 20-15 lead as James and Devin Booker led the effort for the Americans in the first 10 minutes.
They continued to build their lead in the second half, but France remained within striking distance at halftime as it trailed 49-41. Booker led the U.S. with 13 points at the break while Yabusele had 15 for the French, including a dunk over James.
France was very cold from outside in the first half, connecting on just 3 of 16 shots (18.8%) from beyond-the-arc. USA drilled 9 of 20 shots (45.0%) from downtown in the first half. France had 26 points in the paint in the first half and USA had 20 points in the paint.