The Olympic Men’s Basketball semi-finals are in the book, and with it, we now have our gold medal matchup. The USA will play France on Saturday, August 10th, at 3:30 PM ET in the men’s basketball finals. This comes at the end of two tightly fought games today, with the US and France barely squeaking past their opponents. With everything still on the line, this will be a must-watch game to see the two remaining teams square off for gold!
Serbia came out to play today. Starting off shooting fireballs, taking the early lead in the game. With the US struggling to keep up, Steph Curry became the savoir early, going crazy from outside and scoring most of Team USA’s points. Firing out corner threes, then dancing with the US bench. His efforts weren’t enough to close the gap, however. At the end of the first 1st, the US was down, trailing by 8 points, with Serbia looking comfortable on both ends of the floor, getting monster early performances out of Jokic and Bogdanovic. Serbia shot 65% from the field and 55% from 3, with the US surviving on the three going 6-11 early.
Serbia did not slow down in the second, as they kept their pace up, shooting the roof of the building. They used a zone to take the US out of their offense, which held the US up, eventually giving Serbia a 17-point lead. The US started gaining ground back late as the hot shooting started to cool. They still struggled to find any sense of flow on either side of the ball. With Curry still carrying the entire team, we could see him have a massive role in a comeback. The US has a mountain to climb as they sit down 11 at half-time.
In the third, the US finally chipped away at pieces of the Serbian lead, but the punishing physicality overwhelmed the US. Serbia's shooting remained unreal, with the US bench providing no help offensively. The lead was cut to just seven at one point before ballooning up to 15 near the end of the third. Serbia has been lights out, playing with intensity and structure. The US has continued to cling to lineups with no rhythm or flow, with only Curry, LeBron, and Embiid finding their form throughout the first three quarters.
Rallying back at the beginning of the fourth in a big way, the US cut into the massive Serbian lead. Kevin Durant hit a key three, with Jokic committing a foul off the ball and giving possession back to the US. After this, the US knocked down another 3, slicing the lead to 5 and turning into a rock fight, with the US still on the trailing side. It wasn't until under 4 minutes in the game the US took the lead. In the closing seconds of the game, the US held onto a narrow 4-point lead until Jokic found Booker on a mismatch down low. Cutting it to 2. The US inbounded the ball with 22 seconds left on the clock, getting the ball past a full-court press. It ended up in Curry’s hands, who managed to milk the clock to 8.2 seconds left before Serbia committed a take fowl to send him to the line. He made both free throws, cutting put the US up by 4. Serbia made one last attempt at it but missed. The US cliche a come-from-behind victory away from Serbia to go to the gold medal game!
This may have been one of the most electric games we’ve seen at the Olympics. The French crowd was wild, as the tug-of-war match between these two teams never ended. Just as you felt one team was gaining momentum, we’d see a counter. With the Wagner brothers struggling from range, Dennis Schroder took over the scoring duties for Germany. Neither team had their 3-ball fall until the end; it became a battle of attrition down low for most of the game. The French bigs struggle down the stretch as Victor Wembamyama couldn’t find the bottom of the bucket. However, Yabusele and Cordinier caught fire in the 2nd and 3rd, bringing the French back from a deficit.
Germany came out of the gates hot. After a dominant first quarter, the score evened, being tied 31 to 31 at halftime. Neither team could pull out much of a lead until the end, when France slowly began to edge out Germany down the stretch. Germany rallied back, though, as their outside shots started chewing into the French lead. France led by 2 with 12 seconds left on the clock after a massive German turnover. Forcing Germany into the foul game. Eventually, France walked away with it 73 - 69.
Overall, this game was all defense. Batum and Wembanyama showed that young or old, it doesn’t matter; defensive effort can change the game. Challenging every shot, crowding the paint, and rushing the German passing lanes, the French willed themselves to the win. In a game where the small players settled this matchup, France stepped up.
With the finals game set, the USA will take on France for the Men's Basketball gold medal! Tune in on Saturday at 3:30 PM ET to see which country will bring back the gold!