Team USA on Thursday needed a late comeback to avoid a major upset against Serbia in the men’s basketball semifinals at the Summer Olympics in Paris, and it was Stephen Curry who played the role of hero for the Americans.
Curry led all scorers with 36 points in Team USA’s 95-91 win over a Serbian team anchored by Nikola Jokic. Curry was the only player for the U.S. who seemed to show up in the first half. Team USA trailed by as many as 17 points in the game and was down 13 heading into the fourth quarter, but they stepped up defensively and relied on their best players down the stretch.
No player was more clutch for the U.S. than Curry. The two-time NBA MVP drained one of his whopping nine three-pointers with 2:24 remaining in the game to give Team USA a 91-86 lead.
STEPHEN. CURRY. TEAM USA LEADS.#ParisOlympics | 📺 NBC, USA Network and Peacock pic.twitter.com/C4MUUl1v78
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 8, 2024
Two possessions later, Curry came up with a huge steal and made a layup to give his team a 91-85 lead with 1:41 left to play.
Curry then made two free throws to ice the game for Team USA with 8.2 seconds remaining.
Curry finished 12-of-19 from the field overall and 9-of-14 from three-point range. He also had 8 rebounds.
LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid also came up huge in the fourth quarter, but Curry is the primary reason Team USA did not have to settle for a spot in the bronze medal game.
