Team USA stepped on the gas pedal in the fourth quarter to turn back Serbia, 93-89, and advance to the gold medal match in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on Friday, August 9 (Philippine time) at the Bercy Arena.
The American quintet went down by as much as 17 points in the first half and by 13 heading into the fourth but shifted to high gear from there as they dropped a 32-15 bomb in the period to seize the victory.
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Team USA thus arranged a duel for the gold medal against France in a rematch of the Tokyo 2020 final.
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LeBron James, Steph Curry, Joel Embiid and Kevin Durant led the charge for the World No. 1 squad in the fourth, combining for 29 points.
Curry finished with 36 points on 12-for-19 shooting and hauled down eight rebounds to pace USA.
James came through with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in a historic night as he became the first player to produce two Olympic triple-doubles. He first logged 11 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists against Australia in the London edition in 2012.
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Embiid scored 19 on an 8-for-11 clip while Durant had nine points.
Bogdanovic led Serbia with 20 points, three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic logged double-double numbers of 17 points and 11 assists while Aleksa Avramovic added 15 points.
The Americans opened the final period on a 10-2 tear behind James, Curry, Durant and Devin Booker to cut a 63-76 deficit to five, 73-78.
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There was no stopping Team USA's fightback from there, with Embiid taking over to pull the squad to just within two, 82-84, heading into the final four minutes of the match. James then drove to the lane for an uncontested layup to knot the count at 84-all with 3:39 to go.
While an emphatic dunk by Filip Petrusev gave the lead back to Serbia, 86-84, Curry quickly countered with a triple for USA to gain the upperhand, 87-86, which the squad held on to the finish.
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Serbia last threatened on Bogdan Bogdanovic's three-point play, 89-91, with less than a minute remaining, but Durant stepped up again, showing why he’s Team USA’s all-time leading scorer with a go-ahead basket for a four-point breather.
Curry sealed the win for the American quintet after draining both of his free throws.
