Some legacies look best etched in gold.
One of the most legendary U.S. squads ever assembled has earned that privilege, re-asserting its position at the pinnacle of basketball with a 98-87 win over France in the men’s gold-medal game at the Paris Olympics.
The American big three came through once again, as LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant combined for 53 points, putting the icing on the cake for a storied trio that has come to define basketball over the last decade.
The older hoopers refused to cede space to the next generation, in particular, opponent Victor Wembanyama of France.
His time will certainly come, as the phenom finished with 26 points and scored in ways that only the 7-foot-4 alien can do. Breakout star Guerschon Yabusele also stood out with 20 points.
But nothing could get in the way of a fifth-straight gold medal for the Americans. Not a huge deficit against Serbia in the semifinals and not a hostile French crowd. The U.S. had a date with destiny and was rewarded for it.
Here are all the key moments and highlights from a thrilling men’s gold-medal game.
LIVE SCORE: USA 98, FRANCE 87
Fourth quarter
• 0:35 — Curry puts France to bed! Puts up a prayer over two defenders and puts the game out of reach for France. Goodnight Paris. 96-87 USA.
• 1:19 — Chef Curry in takeover mode what is going on?! That’s three straight three-pointers for the best shooter of all time to answer any sort of run France tries to go on in the final moments.
• 2:47 — Just as France cuts it to a one-possession game, Curry heaves up a timely three-pointer to end a short three-minute drought for the Americans. 85-79 USA.
• 4:15 — France had a huge chance to cut into the American lead but turned it over twice at the most inopportune time and was unable to capitalize on two solid defensive possessions. 82-74 USA.
• 5:24 — LeBron James with a head full of steam and an open lane is still the most unstoppable force in basketball. The locomotive finishes a nasty dunk in the lane with authority to get revenge for the Yabusele poster from earlier.
• 8:24 — Durant saves a lost possession by nailing a deep catch-and-shoot three-pointer as the shot clock sounds to keep France just out of reach. 77-68 USA.
Third quarter
End of the third quarter: USA 72, France 66
• 0:00 — Raptors legend Nando De Colo comes up big at the buzzer! The guard intercepts Anthony Edwards’ pass then runs in the length of the floor and gets the favourable goaltending call to cut the deficit to six points to start the fourth. What a swing for France.
• 2:30 — After being held scoreless for much of this game, FIBA Fournier has been activated. The Pistons guard nails a pull-up three then on the next possession, finishes a clean sidelines out-of-bounds play with a layup.
• 4:05 — Suddenly, France is starting to hit from deep. Wemby gets way too much space from behind the line and drains the catch-and-shoot look. The phenom is up to 20 points on 9-of-13 from the field and two-of-four from deep. 65-56 USA.
• 6:58 — Curry is heating up. Drains his second three-pointer of the frame and his fourth of the game to give the U.S. a 14-point lead. France forced to call a time-out after that one, can’t leave someone like him open on the perimeter. The U.S. is dominating from range, shooting 11-of-24 (46 per cent) while France is 3-of-17 (18 per cent) as of now.
• 7:36 — Embiid is getting to his money spot, draws two shooting fouls already in the half and hits all four free throws despite a chorus of loud French boos ringing from Bercy Arena. 58-45 USA.
• 9:44 — KD gets things started here in the second half by draining a patented pull-up mid-range. Like clockwork for the Slim Reaper.
HALF-TIME
Second quarter
End of the second quarter: USA 49, France 41
• 0:00 — It’s the Guerschon Yabusele legacy game right now. The French forward finishes at the rim as time expires to cut the deficit to single digits going into the half. He’s leading the way with a game-high 15 points and some incredible highlights so far. NBA executives might have to start making some calls…
• 2:13 — Yabusele oh my goodness! Uses the slip screen perfectly to get around his man then elevates for a disgusting one-handed slam to put LeBron James on a poster and draws the foul. The French crowd is on its feet! 40-36 USA.
• 3:53 — Things are getting a little chippy here as Devin Booker and Yabusele get into each other’s faces. Tensions are high with this much on the line.
• 5:25 — This is the matchup everyone wanted to see. LeBron and Wemby are going at it here, exchanging buckets and drawing some defensive assignments. The Lakers legend goes for a self-alley-oop but Wemby disrupts it. The two then exchange tough layups on offence.
• 7:10 — France is storming in the second quarter. Three-pointers from Yabusele and Strazel cut into the Americans’ lead and then Bilal Coulibaly put home a dunk in transition to take the lead. 25-24 France.
• 8:42 — Anthony Davis putting in the work early in the second. Blocks a three-pointer on one end then gets the outlet pass and finishes the layup. Then on the next possession, fights for two offensive boards and finishes a tough put-back dunk. 24-17 USA.
First quarter
End of first quarter: USA 20, France 15
• 0:28 — The Timberwolves teammates are going head-to-head. Anthony Edwards nails a sweet step-back three-pointer over Gobert for his second make from deep in the game.
• 2:35 — Rudy Gobert and Jayson Tatum check in early (for once) and exchange buckets as the Celtics star finishes a dunk then the Frenchman responds and slams it home off an easy entry pass. 14-13 USA.
• 6:14 — France is playing fearlessly. That’s two straight dunks from Guerschon Yabusele and Wemby as they attack the paint early and show Joel Embiid the mistake he made picking the U.S.
• 8:28 — Wemby has arrived. The phenom nails his first two shots of the game, first by responding to James with a big three-pointer, then finishes a sweet lay-up at the rim with some soft touch. France 7, USA 5.
• 9:22 — LeBron James gets the party started in the most unsurprising way possible by punching in a big two-handed slam in transition. 39 is the new 29.
PRE-GAME NOTES
• As reported by Shams Charania, Kevin Durant is set to make his first start for the U.S. at these Olympics, replacing plucky guard Jrue Holiday in the opening five. Steph Curry, Devin Booker, LeBron James and Joel Embiid will line up alongside the 14-time NBA All-Star.
• France will start Frank Ntilikina, Isaia Cordinier, Nicolas Batum, Guerschon Yabusele and Victor Wembanyama. Rudy Gobert starts on the bench once again.
• This will be a rematch of the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics that saw the U.S. down France 87-82 in a tight game. However, the teams will look radically different as France was without phenom Victor Wembanyama and breakout guys Mathias Lessort and Isaia Cordinier. The U.S., which put together a star-studded cast for Paris, was without LeBron James, Steph Curry and Joel Embiid, among others.
