USA basketball comes back to beat Serbia in semifinals after trailing by 13 in 4th quarter

It wasn’t pretty, at least not for three quarters. But it was just enough to move on and set up Team USA for a chance at another gold medal.

Steph Curry led the team with 36 points off nine three-pointers, as the U.S. mounted a huge fourth-quarter comeback against Serbia in the semifinals of the Paris Olympics, winning 95-91.

Down as much as 15 late in the third quarter, the situation appeared dire for Team USA, with Serbia having all the momentum and controlling much of the game. The U.S. wasn’t able to get back within 10 points until just over seven minutes left in the game.

But the rest of the way was all U.S.

Lebron James hit clutch shots in the final minutes, ending up with his second career Olympic triple-double, with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Kevin Durant had just nine points for the game, but seven of those were in the final quarter. Joel Embiid added a big 19 as well.

Only four triple-doubles have been registered in Olympic basketball, and two of them were by LeBron James.

Serbia started off with a hot first quarter where it led by double digits, and the momentum continued in the second, leading to a 54-43 lead. It had its largest lead of the game at 76-61 with just seconds to go in the third quarter. A short-range shot from Durant cut that lead to 13 just before the buzzer, but it appeared Serbia had been in control.

The fourth quarter was a different animal, however. The U.S. outscored Serbia 32-15 in the last 10 minutes en route to the win, at one point scoring six points in two seconds.

The whole game changed in the fourth after a wild sequence saw the U.S. score six points in two seconds. Durant made a 3-pointer while Anthony Davis was getting fouled. The U.S. got another possession, and off the inbounds Devin Booker made another 3-pointer.

Curry hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:16 left. He added a pair of free throws with 8.2 seconds left to make it a two-possession game and the Americans escaped.

Team USA needed a late rally to overcome a 15 point deficit against Nikola Jokic and Serbia to clinch a spot in the gold medal match against France.

The U.S. previously beat Serbia 105-79 in an exhibition July 17 and again 110-84 July 28 in the first game of Paris pool play.

Team USA will face host country France in the gold medal matchup at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday. The underdog French, led by Victor Wembanyama, beat Germany 73-69 in the first semifinal game Thursday. It will be a rematch of the men’s basketball final from the Tokyo Olympics.

The U.S. is looking to capture their fifth consecutive gold medal in men’s basketball. Team USA has won a men’s basketball medal in every Olympics in which it has competed (the U.S. boycotted Moscow in 1980) and is seeking their 17th gold medal in men’s basketball.

On a player level, a win for Team USA would mean Durant would become the first four-time Olympic men’s basketball gold medalist.

France has never won a gold medal in men’s basketball, but has won three silver medals — all of which have been loses to the U.S. (1948, 2000, 2020). It would be the first time a host nation has won a gold medal in men’s basketball since 1996, when the U.S. won in Atlanta.

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 20 points for Serbia, which got 17 from Nikola Jokic and 15 from Aleksa Avramovic. Serbia will face Germany earlier Saturday for bronze.