US men survive Serbia scare, reach Olympic hoops gold medal game

PARIS (AP) — They scored six points in two seconds. And just like that, against what looked like overwhelming odds, the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team was on its way.

To a comeback. To a win. And to another Olympic gold medal game.

Stephen Curry scored 36 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:16 left, and the U.S. will play for gold in the Paris Olympics on Saturday night after beating Serbia 95-91 (box score). The U.S. trailed by 17 points in the first half, plus faced an 11-point halftime deficit — the biggest one successfully overcome by an American team since NBA players were added to the Olympic mix in 1992.

Curry for the lead!

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Serbia led by 11 with 7:19 left. The rest of the way, all U.S.

It’ll be the U.S. against host France for gold in a dream matchup for the host nation on Saturday night, while Serbia will face Germany earlier Saturday for bronze.

The whole game changed in the fourth after a wild sequence saw the U.S. score six points in two seconds. Kevin Durant made a 3-pointer while Anthony Davis was getting fouled. The U.S. got another possession, and off the inbounds Devin Booker made another 3-pointer.

Just like that, a 78-67 lead for Serbia was down to 78-73. The comeback was on, and Curry’s 3 put the U.S. up for good. He added a pair of free throws with 8.2 seconds left to make it a two-possession game and the Americans escaped.

Joel Embiid scored 19 points and LeBron James added 16 for the U.S., which is now assured of its 20th medal in 20 Olympic appearances.

LECAPTAIN AMERICA!

Team USA extends their lead over Serbia. #ParisOlympics

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Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 20 points for Serbia, which got 17 from Nikola Jokic and 15 from Aleksa Avramovic.

Serbia coach Svetislav Petic kept saying the same thing all summer, that the team the U.S. put together for the Paris Games was better than any in Olympic history. Even the Dream Team, he insisted.

A barrage of Serbian 3-pointers had the Americans squarely on the ropes, until the game changed in the fourth. The U.S. improved to 144-6 all-time in Olympic play, 63-4 since NBA players were added to the Olympics in 1992.

The comeback kept Kevin Durant’s hopes of becoming the first four-time Olympic men’s gold medalist very much alive.

And of all the U.S. semifinal moments, this was like few others. The four-point final margin was the second closest in American history in the Olympic semifinals; the U.S. beat Lithuania by two in the 2000 semifinals in Sydney, on the way to gold there.

Thursday: US women rout Nigeria 88-74 to reach Olympic basketball semis