Paris 2024: Steph Curry, LeBron James lead USA to fifth consecutive gold medal with narrow victory over hosts France
By Leon Imber
Updated 11/08/2024 at 01:19 GMT+1
The quality of USA basketball greats such as LeBron James and Steph Curry ultimately shone through as the star-studded basketball team beat hosts France 98-87 to claim the country's fifth consecutive gold medal at the Olympic Games in Paris. Steve Kerr's side were pushed hard by a France team led by Victor Wembanyama, but ultimately prevailed in a dramatic final.
'Legends on top of the world again' - LeBron, Curry and USA celebrate winning basketball gold
Video credit: TNT Sports
Steve Kerr's USA basketball side showed their undoubted quality as they pipped hosts France to the gold medal with a 98-87 win at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Steph Curry produced an emphatic display, shooting eight three-pointers to help USA claim their fifth consecutive basketball gold, and their eighth in their last nine Games appearances.
The game was heading for a stiffly fought conclusion, but some magic from Curry helped to establish an 11-point cushion, with two stunning three-pointers in the closing minutes to seal gold for USA.
The USA team, who had a near-miss after trailing by 17 points against Serbia at one stage during their semi-final, looked to have their lead put under threat with Guerschon Yabusele and NBA star Victor Wembanyama leading the hosts to a nail-biting final quarter.
However, Curry's status as arguably the best shooter in basketball history was emboldened by an inspired late rally to ensure gold headed back to the United States.
"Steph Curry ended up being the difference," USA boss Kerr told Eurosport. "The flurry at the end of the game was just incredible. I've seen it a few times, but it never gets old.
"It's the whole group, it's all 12 guys these last six weeks putting in so much work. I want to give credit to France. They were amazing.
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'Oh my goodness!' - Incredible dunk from Yabusele floors LeBron
Video credit: TNT Sports
"They fought, it felt like we were going to break that game open many times, and they just kept hanging in there and they made us work and congrats to France on the silver medal. It's a great accomplishment."
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USA could well have been knocked out of the tournament by Serbia in the semi-finals, but for a phenomenal late comeback to win 95-91 - and Kerr said the team learnt just how good other sides are becoming, after an era of American dominance.
"I think we learned how hard these games are in the medal round," Kerr said. "Against the best teams, like France like Serbia, so pretty amazing.
"The game is global now, there's great talent all over the world. Wembanyama was amazing tonight. He's soon going to become one of the great players in the world. You could say that about [Nikola] Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo and so many others. So it's a global game. But we still feel like we have the most great players."
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Team USA celebrate gold at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris on August 10, 2024
Image credit: Getty Images
France enjoyed a strong start to the match with Wembanyama dancing through the USA team, scoring seven quick points - a sign of marked improvement on his form earlier in the Games.
Anthony Edwards soon posted two three-pointers off the bench in the first quarter, and proved a staunch counter for the rangy Wembanyama.
USA took a 20-15 lead into the second quarter and opened the lead by a further three during a high-scoring 10-minute period.
Wembanyama and Yabusele were France's key men, with the duo collectively posting 28 of France's 41 points in the opening half, and USA's all-round team contribution was a clear determining factor in their advantage.
Curry hit his fourth three-pointer in the third, but the hosts began to rally and made a real push towards parity heading into the fourth, cutting USA's lead to six - posting 25 points to USA's 23 to head into the final 10 minutes at 72-66.
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Watch as Curry sinks unbelievable three-pointer and goes wild as USA seal gold
Video credit: TNT Sports
However, Kerr's side rallied to put the game beyond doubt. Anthony Davis posted the first points of the final quarter, while Kevin Durant scored an important three-pointer to set his side on their way - and secured a personal feat of 100+ points in gold medal games.
USA momentarily struggled to maintain possession, but Curry stepped up in the final minutes with two clutch three-pointers to seal the game, as the 36-year-old finally filled his personal void of an Olympic gold medal.
discovery+ is the streaming home of the Olympic Games, and the only place you can watch every moment of Paris 2024 this summer.
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