Massive Fourth Quarter Comeback Lifts USA Basketball To Gold Medal Game With Win Over Serbia
Aug 8, 2024, 3:18 PM | Updated: Aug 9, 2024, 11:40 am
PARIS, France – USA Basketball trailed Serbia by 13 points at the end of the third quarter before a massive fourth-quarter comeback lifted the United States to a 95-91 win over Serbia.
With the win over Serbia, USA Basketball will face France in the Gold Medal Game on Saturday. The United States outscored Serbia 32-15 in the fourth quarter to take down reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and Serbia.
Stephen Curry led all scorers with 36 points, including nine three-pointers, along with eight rebounds. He scored 20 points in the first half. Joel Embiid dropped 19 points, while LeBron James notched a triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists.
For Serbia, Bogdan Bogdanovic led the way with 20 points. Jokic chipped in 17 points and 11 assists, while Aleksa Avramovic added 15 points.
No Joke. 🇺🇸 #USABMNT pic.twitter.com/5VV8sCCgFV
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 8, 2024
Serbia Catches Fire In First Half To Take Double Digit Lead Over USA Basketball
Stephen Curry caught fire in the first three minutes, hitting four three-pointers and had 14 of Team USA’s 15 points. One of his triples, he shot from the corner, before the ball reached the rim, he turned around to his United States teammates as it fell through the net. Devin Booker had the one point for USA Basketball that wasn’t scored by Curry.
Despite the hot shooting by Curry, Serbia stayed composed and held the lead for most of the first quarter. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Aleksa Avramovic had 15 of their first 25 points when they held a 25-18 lead with under four minutes left in the opening quarter.
At the end of the first quarter, Serbia had a 31-23 lead. It was the most points they scored in any quarter in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Bogdan Bogdanovic led the way with nine points. Aleksa Avramovic chipped in eight points, while Nikola Jokic had six points and six assists.
For Team USA, Curry finished the opening quarter with 17 points. LeBron James added a three-pointer.
Serbia started the second quarter on an 8-2 run and had their biggest lead of the game to that point, 39-25 with 7:40 left in the second quarter. They were on fire offensively, shooting 14-of-20 from the field, including 7-for-11 from the three-point line, and 7-of-9 from two-point range.
After trailing 42-27, the United States went on a 7-0 run before Serbia stopped the bleeding and kept their lead at double digits. Bogdan Bogdanovic made some big plays to give Serbia a big lead and started taunting USA Basketball legend Carmelo Anthony, who was sitting in the front row. That lit a fire for LeBron James, who came out of that timeout and drilled a three-pointer, followed by a steal, leading to a Joel Embiid dunk.
Process That.
📺 USA Network + Peacock
🇺🇸 #USABMNT #Paris2024 #Basketball
pic.twitter.com/FjLNDFcdmM— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 8, 2024
The United States chipped away at the deficit in the last three minutes of first half, trailing Serbia 54-43 at the break. Aleksa Avramovic led the way with 15 points. Bogdan Bogdanovic added 12 points, while Nikola Jokic chipped in nine points, three rebounds, and seven assists. As a team, Serbia shot 54 percent from the field, including 10-of-19 from the perimeter.
For the United States, Stephen Curry dropped 20 points to lead all scorers. LeBron James had nine points, and Joel Embiid added seven points. They shot 48 percent from the field, hitting nine of their 19 attempts from beyond the arc.
Work to do after the break.#USABMNT x #Paris2024 #Basketball pic.twitter.com/ZEuFA0S7XJ
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 8, 2024
Massive Fourth Quarter Comeback Lifts USA Basketball To Gold Medal Game With Win Over Serbia
After chipping away at the lead once again, the United States couldn’t get any closer to Serbia than eight points in the third quarter. Stephen Curry scored nine points in the third quarter. Serbia held a 76-63 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
In the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, Team USA went on a run and pulled to within five points, 78-73 with under seven minutes remaining.
Joel Embiid made massive plays on both ends of the floor in crunch time, getting an and-one, hitting a massive jump shot, and getting a block. With 3:40 left in the game, LeBron James scored a layup to tie the game at 84, forcing Serbia to call a timeout. The United States was on a 21-8 run in the fourth quarter at that point.
Serbia took a two-point lead after the timeout before Stephen Curry gave Team USA the lead with a big three-pointer. After getting a stop, LeBron James went to the rim and scored to give the United States a three-point lead. Serbia called a timeout after Stephen Curry nailed a layup to put them up by five, 91-86 with 1:41 remaining in the game.
RELATED STORIES
Serbia got an and-one from Bogdan Bogdanovic to trim the deficit to two, 91-89 with under one minute remaining. Kevin Durant made a contested midrange jumper to make it a two-possession game. Nikola Jokic quickly scored a layup to bring Serbia within two again. With 8.2 seconds left, Serbia fouled to stop the clock. Stephen Curry knocked down both free throws to extend their lead back to four points and sealed the win.
USA Basketball advanced to the Gold Medal game and will face France on Saturday, August 10 at 1:30 p.m. MT on KSL TV.
