LeBron James will turn 40 in December and may never play in the Olympics again.
Steph Curry is 36, Kevin Durant 35.
Their clocks are also ticking.
Together, the old dogs helped lead Team USA to its fifth straight gold medal with an 98-87 victory over France on Saturday in front of a partisan Parisian crowd at Bercy Arena. Jimmy Fallon, Carmelo Anthony and A’ja Wilson were among those supporting Team USA.
Curry finished with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting from deep after pouring in 36 against Serbia in the semifinals. He scored 60 points and made 17 3′s in the semis and finals.
“This was a test, obviously France in their home building you knew they weren’t going to quit,” Curry told NBC’s Mike Tirico. “They threw everything at us….We got a little out of sorts down the stretch, turned the ball over, taking quick shots.
“That was an unbelievable moment. I’ve been blessed to play basketball at a high level for a very long time. This ranks very high in terms of the excitement and the sense of relief getting to the finish line.”
He added: “For me to get a gold medal is insane and I thank God for the opportunity to experience it.”
Durant, the all-time leading scorer in U.S. Olympic history, scored 15 and became the first American man to win four gold medals. The U.S. improved to 4-0 against France in gold-medal games and to 36-1 in the Olympics since 2004. France became the first host nation to medal since the U.S. won gold in Atlanta in 1996.
Devin Booker added 15 points and Anthony Davis 8 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks. Team USA had 29 assists on 36 made field goals.
“I’m 39 years old, going into my 22nd season,” James, who notched 14 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds, said ahead of the gold-medal game. “I don’t know how many opportunities and moments I’m going to get like this to compete for something, compete for something big and play in big games.”
NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama led France with 26 points in the biggest game of his young career, and Guerschon Yabusele scored 20, including a monster dunk on James in the first half.
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France was a surprise finalist after knocking off both a loaded Canada team in the quarterfinals and a skilled Germany in the semifinals.
The U.S. seized a 49-41 halftime lead when Booker had 13 points, James seven and Curry, Durant and Anthony Edwards six apiece.
After not playing against Serbia, Jayson Tatum played seven minutes in the first half and scored on a transition dunk.
Joel Embiid, who chose to play for Team USA over France and his native Cameroon, was booed during the second half but did not go back at the fans after saying he would tell them to “suck it.”
Though it was a tense and taut game, the U.S. never faced imminent danger of losing like it did in the semifinals against Serbia when they trailed by 17 points, and 13 entering the final stanza.
Curry drained his fourth 3-pointer to extend Team USA to a 14-point lead at 61-47 early in the third period.
Former Knick Evan Fournier drained a three-ball and France scored again in transition to cut the deficit to 72-66 after three.
A putback dunk by Wembanyama cut it to 82-79 but Curry answered with a corner 3 to push it to 85-79.
“I knew if I got to my spot and got a good release on it, I’d be able to knock it down,” Curry said. “You just let it go and live with the results.”
After two 3′s by Curry, Wembanyama hit another three to cut it to 93-87.
But in the end, Curry, James, Durant and Team USA fulfilled their destiny and won gold.
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com.
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Publish date : 2024-08-10 10:16:00
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