Aug. 10 (UPI) — Stephen Curry was nearly robotic in his shooting motion, unleashing a shower of clutch 3-pointers on France to lead Team USA to a fifth-consecutive gold medal in men’s basketball Saturday in Paris.
“The rhythm, the avalanche came,” Curry told NBC. “Thankfully, the other 3-pointers went in. It was an unbelievable moment.”
The Golden State Warriors sharpshooter scored 24 points — hitting eight 3-pointers — in the 98-87 victory at Bercy Arena. Team USA led for the majority of the game, but France cut the deficit to three with 2:58 remaining.
Curry then poured in four-consecutive deep shots within a 2:13 span to put the French away for good.
“This is storybook stuff, but that’s what Steph does,” Team USA coach Steve Kerr said of Curry. “He likes to be in storybooks.”
LeBron James chipped in 14 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. Kevin Durant and Devin Booker scored 15 points apiece. Durant also became the first man in history to win four Olympic gold medals in basketball.
San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama scored a game-high 26 points, with 13 in each half for France.
The first quarter of the Tokyo 2020 gold medal game rematch featured six lead changes. Booker and Anthony Edwards scored seven and six points, respectively, over first 10 minutes and USA led 20-15.
France used an 8-0 run early in the second quarter to regain the lead. The Americans went on to score six unanswered later in the frame to earn a 10-point advantage. They led 49-41 at halftime, aided by nine made 3-pointers.
The Americans outscored the French 12-6 through the first three minutes of the second half, increasing their lead to 14. France later answered with a flurry of 3-pointers, cutting the deficit to 72-66 at the end of the third quarter.
Wembanyama and the French continued to cut the deficit to single digits in the fourth, but the Americans — led by Curry — responded each time to secure the gold medal.
Wembanyama sank a shot to cut the deficit to 82-97 with under three minutes remaining. Curry then hit his first shot of his onslaught to push the U.S. lead to six. He proceeded to hit another two shots from downtown with 1:53 and 1:14 remaining.
Curry was scalding hot for his clinching shot. The Warriors star dribbled up to two defenders before bouncing the ball behind his back. He then elevated while fading to his right, launching the shot over a forest of arms and watching it fall through the net.
“It is special,” Curry said. “Two years ago, when we [the Warriors] won our last championship, I knew that this was going to be on the horizon and something I was excited to go after.
“I’ve been preparing for a long time, but these last five weeks together with this group has been nothing but ‘one, two, three, gold.’ That’s all we’ve been saying.
“So for us to finally accomplish that, for me to get a gold medal, is insane, and I thank God for the opportunity to experience it.”
Earlier Saturday, three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic led Serbia over Germany in the bronze medal game. He recorded 19 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in the 93-83 triumph.
The Team USA women will face France in the gold medal match of that basketball tournament at 7:30 a.m. MDT Sunday in Paris. Belgium will battle Australia in the bronze medal match.
