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The Pulse: Unforgettable Olympic hoops moment

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The Pulse: Unforgettable Olympic hoops moment

The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic’s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.

Good morning! Show some urgency today.

Lore: Four MVPs, one indelible win

There are close games, and then there are games dramatic enough to remember for a long time. Team USA’s win yesterday over Serbia belongs there, and only due to one quarter of play, really.

Let’s zoom out:

  • For three quarters, this semifinal matchup looked like the worst loss in American Olympic basketball history. Nothing worked for Team USA, and Bogdan Bogdanović turned into a Monstar. Possibly the most talented roster in American Olympic history was crashing out badly. They were down 17 points at one juncture.
  • The fourth quarter is what we’ll remember. Four former NBA MVPs — LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid — all played at their peaks. They played well together, and showcased unbelievable grit down the stretch.
  • Curry especially was vintage, scoring 36 points in the game and hitting nine 3-pointers. James added a triple-double. Durant had a huge bucket in crunchtime. Embiid scored 19 points.

A collective goosebumps of sorts spread across social media after the buzzer. To watch James, Curry and Durant — three of the best 15 NBA players of all time — play like this on the same team, representing their country, was just special. Team USA coach Steve Kerr said he was “really humbled to have been a part of this game.” Same, but from my couch.

Next up, on Saturday for the gold medal: host country France, which eked by Germany in another tight semifinal. The Americans are big favorites, and the focus will be on Embiid, who spurned the French to play for Team USA. Don’t let Wemby get hot.

Elsewhere, four Americans who medaled yesterday:

News to Know

Jones says no ‘urgency’ for Lamb deal
There is no NFL owner like Jerry Jones, who said yesterday he doesn’t have “a sense of urgency” to sign star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb — a training camp holdout — to a deal. Jones made similar remarks about running back Ezekiel Elliott in 2019 before signing him to a big contract. “I was at Nobu two days ago. Put that as a reason (for the stalled talks),” Jones said.

More news

Explainers: The Paris Olympics’ new sport

A sport that gets battle on the official Olympic schedule? Sign us up. Meet breaking, the only new sport at these Games. A little background:

  • An urban dance style that incorporates acrobatic movements and stylized footwork, breaking was born from 1970s block parties in the Bronx. (Call it “breakdancing” at your own risk of sounding out of touch.)
  • Athletes are referred to as b-boys and b-girls, with the “B” standing for — that’s right — breaking.
  • In the Olympics, the athletes will freestyle, improvising and adapting their motions to the DJ’s beat, which they won’t know until the competition begins. I’m nervous for them, honestly.

The format: Sixteen b-boys and b-girls, respectively, will compete in head-to-head battles against each other, starting with a round-robin. That’ll be followed by quarterfinals, semifinals and the medal round.

Some Americans to watch: 30-year-old Victor Montalvo (aka “B-boy Victor”) is currently the top-ranked American men’s breaker in the world. On the women’s side, we’re eyeing 35-year-old Sunny Choi, a former Estée Lauder executive who took gold at the Pan American Games in 2023 after quitting her day job.

David Aldridge wrote a great story earlier this week on the deep history of breaking, which you should read. The battles begin today at 10 a.m. ET.

Feedback Loop: We’re split on Snoop

As you can see above, many of you can’t have enough Snoop Dogg at the Olympics. But slightly more of you think he’s a little too present. 

Two thoughts: 

  • I tend to agree with the majority, but maybe that’s just curmudgeonly. I love Snoop Dogg. People love Snoop Dogg. NBC clearly loves Snoop Dogg. We should let people enjoy things, right?
  • Reader James F. reached out with a solution I frankly should’ve thought about initially: Maybe this is the perfect amount of Snoop. No more, no less. A third option might’ve been best. 

Thanks, as always, for voting.

Olympics HQ

What to watch

All times Eastern

Three days left. On deck today: 

  • Women’s basketball semifinals: Team USA vs. Australia, 11:30 a.m. on NBC and Peacock
  • Breaking, 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Peacock
  • Track and field: men’s and women’s 4×100 relay, 1:30 p.m. on NBC and Peacock

Other medals decided today: swimming, taekwondo, table tennis, sport climbing, sailing, canoeing, weightlifting, field hockey, rhythmic gymnastics, water polo, soccer, volleyball, cycling, wrestling, handball, beach volleyball and boxing.

Medal count

  1. 🇺🇸 United States — 103 (30 gold, 38 silver, 35 bronze)
  2. 🇨🇳 China — 73 (29 gold, 25 silver, 19 bronze)
  3. 🇫🇷 France — 54 (14 gold, 19 silver, 21 bronze)

Pulse Picks

Two years ago, Tua Tagovailoa looked in the mirror and asked himself: “Do I suck?” His mentality has changed after two brilliant years under coach Mike McDaniel, who reoriented the entire Dolphins offense around his QB’s left-handedness. Make time for Jourdan Rodrigue’s compelling story today. 

Austin Mock analyzes whether the Cowboys can actually afford to pay Dak Prescott in what Austin deems a “broken” QB economy. Good read.

Can the rest of the world catch up to Team USA in women’s basketball? Our experts aren’t sure. 

I missed Dana O’Neil’s story from the Olympic skateboarding competition, which just sounded like a downright good time. 

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our story on Quincy Hall’s impressive comeback win in the 400 meters yesterday … and his beef with Noah Lyles. Spicy. 

Most-read on the website yesterday: Did the NCAA really punish Jim Harbaugh over a cheeseburger?

Top podcast in The Athletic network: Scoop City had on DeMeco Ryans, arguably the most feted coach in the NFL right now, to talk about the Texans’ aggressive goals. 

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(Top photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

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