France and the United States emerged victorious on Thursday, both securing in the two spots in Saturday’s Gold Medal Game.
Both semifinal games were not short on excitement, France holding off Germany 73-69 and the United States rallying to defeat Serbia 95-91 behind Stephen Curry’s 36 points.
Four finished in double figures for France, with Guerschon Yabusele scoring 17 on 7-for-11 shooting. Isaia Cordinier scored 16 points on 6-for-13, while Mathias Lessort added 10 off the bench. Victor Wembanyama struggled, scoring just 11 points with seven rebounds and four assists. He made just four out of 17 shots and hit only one three-pointer on eight attempts. He was solid on the defensive end of the floor though with three blocks.
Leading Germany was Dennis Schroder with 18 points. Franz Wagner was the only other player on the team to score in double figures with 10. The pair was a combined 10-for-28 from the field and 5-for-17 from three-point range.
The main course on Thursday was the Americans against Serbia, both teams getting into a long range battle early as Curry scored 17 first quarter points. Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant were responsible for the final 13 USA points.
The United States utilized a 32-15 fourth quarter (the team trailed 76-63 after the first 30 minutes) to propel them to the win, with Joel Embiid also playing outstanding down the stretch with big baskets and good defensive play. He finished with 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting. James secured a triple-double, with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. Curry, playing a game-high 33 minutes, made nine three-point attempts out of 14 and 12 out of 19 shots overall. Durant finished with nine points.
Serbia played terrific team basketball in what was a championship-level performance. Nikola Jokic put up 11 assists, though he did struggle going 7-for-17 from the field and missing all six three-point attempts. Bojan Bogdanovic finished with a team-high 20 points, going 8-for-18 from the field and making three out of 10 three-pointers. Aleksa Avramovic played very well in a supporting role, putting up 15 points and making four out of six three-point attempts.
The great semifinal matchup could be the defacto Gold Medal game, as it showcased the type of competitiveness and big playmaking that you want to see on a global stage. In the end though, the supreme talent of the United States won out. Saturday’s Gold Medal game should be a great one.
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