MANILA, Philippines – And then there were two.
After surviving their respective semifinal foes by the slimmest of margins, Team USA and host country France duke it out for the 2024 Paris Olympics men’s basketball title on Saturday, August 10 (Sunday, August 11, Manila time).
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Second quarter
- USA 32-29: Guerschon Yabusele and Bam Adebayo trade twos as tempers flare
- USA 32-27: Steph Curry finally gets on the board with a three
- USA 29-27: Devin Booker lets it fly from deep
- FRANCE 27-26: Victor Wembanyama takes advantage of the mismatch down low
- USA 26-25: LeBron James forces his way inside for a layup
- FRANCE 25-24: Bilal Coulibaly gives the French the lead with a one-handed throwdown. Timeout USA with 7:10 to play in the second quarter.
- USA 24-23: Matthew Strazel gets the tough triple to fall
- USA 24-20: Guerschon Yabusele cans a three-pointer
- USA 24-17: Anthony Davis scores off a putback jam
- USA 22-17: Victor Wembanyama tips in the miss
- USA 22-15: Anthony Davis undergoal stab is good
First quarter
- END OF 1Q: USA sets the tone with a 20-15 lead over France
- USA 20-15: Anthony Edwards steps back for a triple over Rudy Gobert
- USA 17-15: Bilal Coulibaly floats one in
- USA 17-13: Anthony Edwards fires from long distance. Timeout France with 1:59 to play in the first quarter.
- USA 14-13: Rudy Gobert responds with his own dunk
- USA 14-11: Jayson Tatum slams it home in transition
- USA 12-11: Devin Booker gets open for another easy layup
- FRANCE 11-10: Guerschon Yabusele and Victor Wembanyama with back-to-back slams
- USA 10-7: Steph Curry finds Devin Booker for an uncontested layup
- USA 8-7: Kevin Durant nails a wide-open trey
- FRANCE 7-5: Victor Wembanyama attacks and scores
- 5-5: Nicolas Batum skies for a putback jam
- USA 5-3: Victor Wembanyama and Devin Booker exchange long bombs
- USA 2-0: LeBron James opens the gold-medal game with a powerful two-handed slam
Starting lineups
- USA: Steph Curry, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Joel Embiid
- FRANCE: Frank Ntilikina, Isaia Cordinier, Nicolas Batum, Guerschon Yabusele, Victor Wembanyama
Preview
This highly anticipated gold-medal showdown between USA and France is a rematch of their Tokyo Games finale three years ago, where the Americans edged the French, 87-82, for their fourth consecutive crown.
In arguably one of the best basketball games in Olympic history, the mighty Americans prevailed over Serbia in their semifinal duel last Friday, August 9, with a thrilling 95-91 come-from-behind escape.
Thanks to an all-time performance from Steph Curry – who went off for 36 points built on nine triples – USA managed to overcome a 17-point deficit in the first half and a 13-point disadvantage at the start of the fourth quarter to move within a win of its fifth straight gold and its 17th overall.
After finally breaking out of his slump, look for Curry to put on a shooting clinic anew as he looks to capture his first-ever Olympic gold with the star-studded USA cast.
Meanwhile, count on LeBron James – who delivered a triple-double of 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists against Serbia – and Kevin Durant to save the best for last and continue to show the way for USA in what could be their final appearances in the Olympic stage.
Joel Embiid – who stepped up huge with 19 points against Serbia – is also expected to deliver once more for the Americans and shake off the boos from the hostile French crowd.
Embiid has been heavily booed by the home fans since the start of the Paris Games as he decided to play for the powerhouse USA despite having dual citizenship in France.
For the French, who are also coming off a similar 4-point comeback win over Germany in the semifinals, 73-69, expect towering 7-foot-4 sensation Victor Wembanyama to give it all on the court and hold his own against USA’s frontline of Embiid and Anthony Davis.
Former Boston Celtics forward Guerschon Yabusele – who has been a revelation for the French – and NBA veterans Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum, and Evan Fournier also need to rise to the occasion as they try to pull off an upset on their home soil and secure their first-ever Olympic gold.
Game time is 3:30 am. – Rappler.com