Team USA extends its dominance in Olympic basketball after overcoming France and the home crowd in Paris 2024, making it 17 gold medals overall.
Steph Curry whipped up some Chef Curry magic anew and Team USA foiled France, 98-87, to capture the Olympic basketball gold medal for the fifth straight time and 17th overall in Paris 2024 on Sunday, August 11 (PH time).
The Americans thus scored a repeat of its Tokyo 2020 final victory over the Frenchmen, who were gunning for a first-ever gold but instead settled for the silver for the second straight time and fourth overall.
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Team USA also improved its all-time record in the Games to 149-6 after securing podium finishes in all the 20 times it participated in the event.
Relatively quiet early in the game, Curry played as if it was 2017 and scored 12 – all from deep – of his 24 points in the final three minutes at the Bercy Arena in the French Capital.
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His pick-and-pop with LeBron James proved unstoppable as he swished a pair of triples off that play within that stretch.
The first of which allowed Team USA to douse France’s searing rally that saw the French close in, 82-79.
The next one gave the world no. 1 team a 90-81 advantage.
But France was not about to go down without a fight in front of its home crowd. Not in Victor Wembanyama’s watch.
[WATCH: Steph Curry and Lebron James dazzled to lift Team USA past Serbia in the men's basketball semifinals | Paris 2024 Highlights]
The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year uncorked his own triple with 54.4 seconds remaining to trim the gap to six, 87-93.
The ball ended up in the hot hands of Curry for one last time for Team USA. The Golden State Warriors superstar dribbled past two defenders before unloading a wild trey that sealed the victory which further cemented the Americans' dominance in the quadrennial meet.
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Before Curry’s heroics, Devin Booker, Durant and James carried the bulk of the load for the Americans.
Booker turned in 15 points, six rebounds and three assists, the Slim Reaper tallied 15 points on three triples, while the King had another all-around outing with 14 points, 10 assists, six rebounds, two steals, and a block.
Meanwhile, Wembanyama led all scorers with 26 points he spiked with seven rebounds and two assists.
Guerschon Yabusele also put up a sensational performance for France that saw him drop 20 points, while Nando de Colo added 12 points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals in a losing effort.
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The match started as highly-charged as expected, with James seeing a wide open lane and taking off for an emphatic dunk to open the scoring for the Americans.
Wembanyama responded right away with a three-pointer from way out. In the ensuing play, James found Devin Booker in the right elbow for an uncontested three ball.
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Then just when the US thought it forced Yabusele to waste away a tough layup, Nicolas Batum came out of nowhere to clean up the possession with an emphatic two-handed flush.
Team USA ended up taking a 20-15 advantage entering the second period where both teams sustained the intensity.
That period also saw Yabusele make perhaps one of the best plays in this edition of the quadrennial meat after soaring above James for a vicious dunk off a baseline drive.
In the end, The King sat comfortably on his throne with a third Olympic gold medal around his neck.