by Jed Katz
Stephen Curry, Team USA Pull Off Epic Comeback Against Serbia in Olympic Semifinals
In a thrilling game, Team USA pulled off an incredible comeback against Serbia in the men’s basketball semifinal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, winning 95-91. The victory, due mainly to the dominance of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, will go down as one of the most incredible wins in USA Basketball history.
Serbia led by as many as 20 points in the second half, led by NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. Although Jokic scored 17 points and 11 assists, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Aleksa Avramovic scored a combined 35 points, shooting 7-of-16 from deep and 13-of-26 from the field.
Serbia made all of the right plays throughout this game. Going up against one of the greatest basketball teams ever assembled and winning by a wide margin made it seem like everything fell into place for Jokic and company. However, Curry, Joel Embiid, and LeBron James took over the game down the stretch, slowly closing the margin and eventually taking the lead with just over a minute to play.
Curry had an all-time performance for Team USA, going 12-of-19 from the field and 9-of-14 from deep, resulting in a 36-point masterclass. The 6-foot-3 point guard snagged eight impressive rebounds and dished out two assists. It was a classic Curry game.
To start, Curry was all Team USA had to offer to keep it respectable with Serbia. James and Embiid came alive in the second half, combining for 35 points. James had a historic triple-double, putting up 16 points, 12 rebounds, and ten assists.
The biggest reason the United States pulled away down the stretch was Embiid attacking Jokic on offense. While he was lackluster on the boards, failing to box out Jokic and Filip Petrusev late in the fourth quarter, Embiid made up for it on the other end with midrange jumpers, taking advantage of Jokic’s lack of athleticism.
Team USA will take on France in the Gold Medal Game on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
