USA beat Serbia 95-91
The second semifinal game of the day was equally engaging, as Serbia pushed Team USA to their absolute limit before a magical fourth quarter helped them escape with a 95-91 victory. Team USA trailed by 16 in the first half and 11 at halftime, struggling to find consistent offense outside of the scorching sun. Stephen Curry He kept them going with 20 points in the first half.
Serbia maintained this lead throughout the third quarter, taking a 13-run lead into the fourth quarter. Just when the lights seemed too bright for the Americans, they kicked it into gear and mounted a majestic comeback. The key line for Team USA was trailing by 11 through the fourth.
Kevin Durant Three swish downs as a foul is called on the ball Nikola Jokic, This gave the Americans another possession. Devin Booker He immediately cashed in his own three as Team USA scored six points in a matter of seconds. As Serbia continued to struggle, the Americans’ offensive firepower became far superior to Durant’s. Joel EmbiidLeBron James And Curry took turns hitting big shots to build a five-point lead in less than two minutes.
Bogdan Bogdanovic A clutch layup and one made the final push to cut Team USA’s lead to two points with less than a minute to play. But Durant calmly responded with a silky pull-up jumper from the right wing, extending the lead to four as the Americans escaped with the win.
Curry paced Team USA with 36 points, including nine three-pointers and a dagger free throw. Embiid finished with 19 points, many of which came when they needed them most in the fourth quarter, and James had 16.
Serbia was led by Jokic, who had 17 points, five rebounds and 11 assists. Bogdanovic was also sensational with his shotmaking, scoring 20 points Alexa Avramovyc added 15 of his own.