Paris, Aug. 9, (dpa/GNA) – The United States have survived an almighty scare as they reached the Olympic men’s basketball final with a narrow 95-91 victory over Serbia.
LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry trailed until late in the fourth quarter before turning the tide against the World Cup runners-up.
The US will face hosts France as in the Tokyo 2020 final on Saturday after the French beat World Cup champions Germany 73-69. The US will be aiming for a fifth straight and 17th overall title.
Curry had 36 points, Joel Embiid 19, and James 16 along with 12 rebounds and 10 assists against the Serbians paced by Bogdan Bogdanovic’s 20 points and 17 from Nikola Jokic.
Serbia led by as much as 17 points, by 11 at half-time, and again early in the fourth quarter. But James levelled at 84-84 and Curry’s three-pointer put the US ahead 87-86, and they held out for the remaining two minutes.
Unlucky Serbia will play Germany for bronze in a rematch of the 2023 World Cup final.
GNA