Kevin Durant called Stephen Curry’s 36-point performance in the United States’ 95-91 win over Serbia a “godlike performance” as the four-time reigning Olympic champion staged a thrilling comeback in the fourth quarter on Thursday.
Curry kept the USA in the game while Serbia dominated the first three quarters and threatened to pull off an upset in the semifinals. Serbia led by 13 points entering the final period at Bercy Arena.
The USA defeated Serbia 32-15 in the final ten minutes to set up a thrilling final on Saturday against hosts France, a repeat of the gold medal match three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics.
“Steph, man, that was a divine performance because he felt like he was fighting the whole tournament,” said Durant, a three-time Olympic champion.
“We always said, ‘Every night it could be someone else.’ And tonight he showed up.”
“One shot after another, stealing the ball at the end, finishing with a layup. He was everywhere tonight. It was one of the best games I’ve ever seen from him.”
Curry wasn’t the only one to win the game, as Joel Embiid made a series of crucial shots and ended up scoring 19 points.
“He showed why he’s one of the greatest to ever touch a basketball,” Durant said of Embiid, who helped get Nikola Jokic into foul trouble in the closing stages.
An astonishing five-minute spurt early in the fourth quarter brought the USA back into the game before the star-studded team took control.
“We tried not to get too discouraged. They hit us pretty hard towards the end of the third quarter … but we just kept going. We were able to pressure them, make them miss shots, and we were out on the counterattack,” Durant said.
For LeBron James, who scored 16 points, this victory was one of the biggest of his record-breaking career.
“It’s up there,” said the 39-year-old.
“I don’t know how many more opportunities and moments like this I’m going to get to compete for something, to compete for something big and to play in big games, and tonight was a big game.”
He added: “We knew we were in for a challenge, we knew it was going to be the toughest game yet, but we really gave it our all.”
James is aiming for his third Olympic gold and knows it probably won’t be any easier against the host country.
“Super competitive. Of course, this is Wemby’s (Victor Wembanyama) first Olympics, but the team has been playing together for quite a long time,” he said.
“They have been inspired by the crowd, so we are looking forward to this duel.”
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