That was close! The NBA stars are close to being eliminated in the semifinals of the Olympics. But in the final phase, the superstars take over and avert disgrace.
Top favorite USA only managed to avoid a sensational semi-final exit at the Olympic basketball tournament with great difficulty. The team, including NBA stars LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, beat vice world champion Serbia 95:91 (43:54) in the Bercy Arena in Paris, making up a 13-point deficit in the last quarter.
In the final, the gold medal winners of the last four Summer Games will face France on Saturday (9.30 p.m.). The hosts had previously defeated world champions Germany 73:69, thus abruptly ending Dennis Schröder and Co.’s dream of gold. Germany will play for bronze on Saturday at 11 a.m. against Serbia, with former national coach Svetislav Pesic.
Big curry show
The second semi-final in the Bercy Arena began with a great Stephen Curry show. The Golden State Warriors superstar scored 14 of the Americans’ first 15 points and hit four three-pointers. On the last shot from a distance, Curry demonstratively looked towards the US bench while the ball was still in the air. In the end, he was the best scorer with 36 points.
But the Serbs were not impressed by all this. Quite the opposite. The vice world champions showed no respect for the NBA stars and temporarily pulled ahead by 17 points. At halftime, the Serbs were surprisingly still ahead by eleven points (54:43).
The superstars take over
In the third quarter, it seemed as if the Americans were realizing the seriousness of the situation and were improving. Coach Steve Kerr’s team reduced the deficit to seven points (59:66), and everyone in the arena was now expecting a turnaround. But the Serbs did not give up – quite the opposite. Before the final quarter, Pesic’s team was suddenly ahead by 13 points again (76:63).
But then the superstars took over. James equalized at 84:84, Curry put the USA back in the lead for the first time since the early stages (87:86). Serbia continued to fight, but narrowly missed the sensation.
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
