Alkass Digital
Drama and anxiety captivated the sold-out crowd at Bercy Arena, hours after Team France had clinched a berth in the gold medal game, because suddenly its expected opponent, Team USA, was on the verge of a shocking elimination.
Serbia played a brilliant game Thursday, making the extra pass, attacking the rim with vigor and seemingly knocking down every open three-pointer. Team USA was rendered helpless through the first three-plus quarters and was in real trouble when Nikola Jokic scored a floater with eight minutes, six seconds left for a double-digit lead.
Team USA had beaten Serbia soundly in a friendly last month and in group play 11 days ago, but this was different. Serbia played with no intimidation, matched an early Stephen Curry flurry with its own and eventually took a 15-point lead in the third period.
It was time for dramatics, clutch shots, defensive stops and flawless play and the Americans delivered with a stirring game-ending run that included buckets from Joel Embiid, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Curry for a thrilling 95-91 win in one of the great Olympic games in recent history.
“Serbia was brilliant today and I’m really humbled to have been a part of this game,” USA coach Steve Kerr said. “One of the greatest basketball games I’ve ever been a part of. Serbia was perfect. They played a perfect game. They forced us to reach the highest level of competition that we could find.”
USA will indeed play France in the gold medal game Saturday.