With three minutes to go, the USA was leading by just 82:79, and then it turned out that the French chase had awakened the beast. Specifically, Stephen Curry. The greatest scorer in basketball history hit four three-pointers in two minutes, each one more spectacular. It was Curry’s show, and it sealed a great tournament for the Americans, as the 98:87 victory gave them the gold medal. Curry was the biggest star of the final with 24 points and an 8/12 efficiency from three. Or maybe even the tournament, because in the fierce semifinal against Serbia, he scored as many as 36 points in spectacular style.
The whole world was waiting for this match. The Paris hall was attended by former great basketball players, including Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker. IOC President Thomas Bach and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Great athletes, TV personalities and celebrities. French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, a total of nearly 13,000 PLN. Fans in the stands – the exciting confrontation between the United States and France, a repeat of the Olympic final three years ago, aroused great interest. The spectacle was worthy of an Olympic gold medal competition and there was no shortage of emotions. But instead of a sense of triumph and victory for France, there was a confirmation of dominance, that is, a victory for the United States.
The biggest stars of American and world basketball — LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid — have secured their 17th Olympic gold medal in 20 games. They won in Paris, against a packed and experienced team that was the only team to beat the Americans in the last five editions of the Olympic tournament. The US balance sheet since 2008, when the so-called “redemption team” with Kobe Bryant and James regained the gold it lost four years earlier in Athens? 35-1.
This Saturday’s 35th victory was not easy for the Americans, but the match went well for them. The US basketball players, who were losing to Serbia for most of the match in the semifinals and eventually won 95:91, started the final with intense focus and imposed their conditions. They played hard on defense, rushed on offense, scored a lot of points on counterattacks and dominated. But not enough to escape France.
True, at the start of the second quarter the clock was 24:17 for the United States, but the hosts responded with an 8-0 run and took a narrow lead. The game was evenly matched and the score was close to a draw with the United States having a slight advantage. When Gershon Yabusile flew over James, who was wearing the Golden Boot, and fouled him and then made the free throw, the Americans led 40:36 with two minutes left in the first half.
However, they had a great finish, thanks to Stephen Curry and Devin Booker, winning 49:41 after the first half. The former scored six points before the break but had five assists, while the latter had 13 points. James was the driving force for the US team, while on the other side the standouts were Yabusile (15 points) and Victor Wembanyama (13).
At the start of the second half, the French stars were playing at a high speed, but there were simply more American stars. Curry, who hit three-pointers, was joined by the more active Joel Embiid, who was constantly booed by the French crowd after he became a French citizen but still chose to play for the United States. His shots also gave the Americans a 61:47 lead.
But France fought back. “Allez les Bleus!” was constantly echoing from the stands, and the hosts were making up for the loss after a three-pointer from Evan Fournier, and they were getting closer at 59:65, which James quickly responded to. However, in the final action of the third quarter, Anthony Edwards lost the ball, and Nando De Colo managed to score points for France – after 30 minutes, it was only 72:66 for the USA.
Although the Americans could not stop for a moment to breathe, they controlled the score. Durant and Jrue Holiday scored important three-pointers at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and James showed a wonderful goal, shouting “USA!”, which for a moment pierced the cheers of the French fans. But only for a moment, because after several losses of the American basketball players, the French began to make up the losses again – with three minutes left, thanks to Wembanyama’s points, they were closer to 79:82.
Then began the stunning Curry performance described at the beginning. The Americans won 98:87 and deservedly won the Olympic gold medal. Booker and Durant each scored 15 points for the United States, and James had 14 points, six rebounds and 10 assists. Wembanyama scored 26 points for France and Yabusile added 20 points.
Serbia won the bronze medals at the Paris Games after defeating Germany 93:83 in the third-place match.
“Bacon scholar. Incurable social media ninja. Professional travel aficionado. Beer buff.”
