After going scoreless in the first half, Kevin Durant helped to will Team USA to a 95-91 comeback win over Serbia and advance to the gold medal game.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Durant scored seven of his nine points in the fourth quarter, as coach Steve Kerr put Durant in the closing lineup for the Americans after he came off the bench for the fifth-straight game.
In total, Team USA’s bench unit of Durant, Derrick White, Anthony Edwards, Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis only had eight points through three quarters, as the U.S. trailed 76-63 going into the fourth after being down as much as 17.
Then, Kerr and the U.S. went with a lineup of Stephen Curry, Devin Booker, LeBron James, Durant and Davis to start the fourth. Joel Embiid checked in for Davis three minutes into the quarter, and the United States ended up outscoring Serbia 32-15 in the final 10 minutes.
CLUTCH DOWN THE STRETCH.
Relive Team USA’s INCREDIBLE comeback against Serbia to advance to the gold medal game! #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/tBDMxWWOXZ
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 8, 2024
Durant ended the night with nine points on 4-of-8 shooting and three rebounds in 24 minutes. This was Durant’s first time not scoring in double digits in this Olympics, but he continues to lead the U.S. with a +77 plus/minus through five games in Paris after finishing as a +5 tonight.
Final stats against Serbia:
???????? Durant: 9 PTS, 50% FG, 3 REB, 1 AST
???????? Booker: 6 PTS, 50% FG, 1 AST, +16???? @USANetwork & @peacock pic.twitter.com/4ouMBwvU2l
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) August 8, 2024
The star of the night was Curry, who had a game-high 36 points and shot 9-of-14 from 3, as he was just one point shy of Carmelo Anthony’s U.S. single-game points record. James had a triple double of 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, the fourth time a triple double has been recorded in Olympic history.
Team USA now will play Victor Wembanyama and France in the gold medal game on Saturday (Aug. 10) at 12:30 p.m. MST, as the U.S. looks for its fifth-straight gold. After becoming Team USA’s all-time leading scorer on Tuesday, Durant said “it’s all about the gold baby. Let’s get it fellas.”
Now, the U.S. will have the chance to deliver Durant his personal fourth-straight gold medal. This matchup against France will be a rematch of the 2021 gold medal game in Tokyo in which Durant had 29 points in a 87-82 U.S. victory.
Kevin Durant, on patriotism, and playing for Team USA:
“A lot of bullshit happens in our country. But a lot of great things happen, too.” pic.twitter.com/QxZv1eYKG1
— Mike Finger (@mikefinger) August 8, 2024
A recap of Durant’s performance against Serbia:
Durant rebounds after slow start
Durant subbed in for the first time with 3:59 remaining in the first quarter and did not do much after checking in. Serbia shot 65% from the floor in the first quarter to build up a 31-23 lead. Durant’s only stat in the first quarter was a rebound.
Durant also did not score in the second quarter, as the U.S. trailed 54-43 at the break, with Durant only going 0-for-1 from the field in eight minutes.
Kerr subbed Durant back in with just over five minutes to go in the third quarter, and he looked to get going right away with a 3, but missed it. After missing two more shots, Durant finally scored on a runner with eight seconds left in the quarter, but the United States was down 76-63 going into the fourth quarter.
Then came USA’s magical final quarter after Durant stayed in for the fourth. Durant cashed a 3 and then Booker hit a 3 seconds after to make it 78-73 with 7:17 remaining after the U.S. retained possession on an off-ball foul. Under a minute later, Durant made another jumper. Embiid started to get rolling after this with seven straight points.
Team USA tied the game at 84 after Durant found James for a left-handed layup with 3:39 to go. A couple possessions later, Curry gave the U.S. a 87-86 lead with a 3, his 32nd point of the game.
With 1:32 left and the U.S. up 91-86, Durant forced Bogdan Bogdanovic into a backcourt violation. After Bogdanovic made it a two-point game with just under a minute left on an and-one layup, Durant iced the game with a pull-up jumper to give the U.S. a 93-89 lead with 34 seconds remaining.
Scoring the FINAL 13 POINTS for USA to complete their #Paris2024 Semifinals comeback…
Steph. Bron. KD. pic.twitter.com/cFkXihsYgG
— NBA (@NBA) August 8, 2024
Curry hit two more free throws with eight seconds remaining after a Serbia bucket to give the U.S. the 95-91 win.
Team USA comes back from down 17 to advance to gold medal game with 95-91 win over Serbia
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
