The U.S. men’s basketball team has won its fifth consecutive gold medal. Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant led the team to a 98-87 victory over hosts France on Saturday to secure the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The gold medal game, played in front of enthusiastic French fans at the Bercy Arena in Paris, was tight, but the U.S. never trailed in the second half, with Curry closing out the game with a mesmerizing three-pointer. Victor Wembanyama put the U.S. on the line with a team-high 26 points in the biggest game of his life.
France cut the U.S. lead to three points in the final seconds of the game, but then Curry struck back. The greatest shooter in basketball history made an astounding four three-pointers in two minutes to give the U.S. some much-needed breathing room in the closing seconds of the game. Curry scored 36 points and made nine three-pointers against Serbia, and finished with 24 points against France, hitting 8 of 12 three-pointers.
This is Curry’s first Olympic gold medal, having never competed in an Olympic Games before this summer.
“It was a test. France was in their home stadium and it was clear they weren’t going to give up,” he told NBC after the game. “They gave it their all. … We got a little out of sync at the end, lost the ball, took quick shots … our rhythm was off and that avalanche happened. Luckily, the last three went in. It was an incredible moment. I’ve been fortunate to play basketball at a high level for a long time, and in terms of the excitement and relief of reaching the goal line, this ranks very high.”
The U.S. team made 18 3-pointers in the gold medal game, shooting 50 percent from three-point range. Their strength in 3-point shooting helped the U.S. overcome 17 turnovers. Durant scored 15 points against France to win his fourth gold medal (the first for a male athlete). James had 14 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds.
Gershon Yabusele scored 20 points for Wembanyama in their win over France. Includes poster dunk by James In the second quarter, France fought hard throughout the game, but shot just 30% from three-point range.
Serbia beat Germany to win the bronze medal early Saturday morning. Here’s a look at every men’s basketball medal winner of the 21st century.
This story begins: CBS Sports August 10, 2024.
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