Team USA got pushed to the brink. But this time Goliath survived the shot to the head.
After digging themselves into a huge hole, Team USA rallied for a 95-91 victory over Serbia in the Olympic semifinals.
Against three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, Team USA trailed by as much as 17, and by 13 going into the fourth quarter.
But behind Steph Curry and a great final period from Joel Embiid to help slow Jokic, Team USA closed on a 32-15 run.
It kept alive the United States’ quest for a fifth consecutive gold medal, facing host France in Saturday’s final.
Kevin Durant will go for his fourth gold, which would be a men’s record.
Curry poured in a game-high 36 points, while Embiid added 19 and slowed Jokic in the fourth.
After Serbia had hit 15 3-pointers through the first three periods to lead 76-63, Team USA held them without a 3 in the fourth.
LeBron James had 16 points, 12 rebounds and ten assists.
“Gotta get in the hard way. We was preaching that the whole fourth quarter,” James said in an oncourt TV interview. “Beating a team three times in the last three weeks, we know it was gonna be difficult. We knew Serbia was gonna give us everything they had. Kudos to Serbia, but we came through.
“Chef Curry with a (great) Chef Curry game, Joel was big time for us. And we needed it, we needed it.”
Curry carried Team USA early, with 14 of their first 15 points for a quick two-point lead.
But they coughed up seven unanswered points, a Serbia run capped by Joel Embiid throwing a bad pass for a turnover and uncontested basket going the other way.
The 31-23 deficit after one seemed surmountable, but that’s when Team USA let the game get away from them. They coughed up an 11-2 run to open the second quarter and fell behind by 17.
Vasilije Micić banked in a 3-pointer to push the lead to 39-25. Then, after Jokic (17 points, 11 assists) blocked James at the rim, Micic found the three-time NBA MVP for an and-one.
That capped an 11-2 blitz and saw Jokic serenaded by chants of “MVP! MVP!” from the Parisian crowd in Bercy Arena.
Team USA trailed 42-25 with 6:25 left in the half, and spent the entire rest of the afternoon chasing.
It took them until the final moments to catch up.It was sloppiness and turnovers that cost Team USA for most of the contest.They clawed within 65-59, but they saw Marko Guduric’s 4-point play cap an 11-2 Serbia run and push their deficit back to 76-61 in the final minute of the third quarter.
It was a mountainous hill to climb, but Team USA did it.
After pulling with 84-80, Durant rebounded a Serbia miss and Embiid hit a fade over Jokic with 4 ½ minutes left.
James tied it on a drive with 3:39 left, and it was fittingly Curry that gave them the lead for good.
Curry hit a long 3-pointer that bounced up and in for an 87-86 edge, their first since the early going.
They never trailed again.
James drove to make it a 89-86, and Curry’s steal and coast-to-coast gave Team USA a 91-86 lead with 1:41 to play that they never relinquished.
