Team USA wins the gold medal in men’s basketball, defeating France in a thriller

Paris (CNN) — The USA men’s basketball team on Saturday won its fifth straight Olympic gold medal, defeating a spirited French team 98-87.

Behind Stephen Curry’s 24 points, the Americans finally put away France in the final minute after a back-and-forth game that thrilled the fans at Paris’ Bercy Arena.

Going into the fourth quarter, the Americans had seen a 14-point lead shrink to six. That lead narrowed still in the fourth quarter, with the French getting it down to three at one point with only minutes to play.

“We just kept our composure,” LeBron James said after the game. “We have been in some tight games throughout the preliminary games, and we had a tight game against Serbia so we knew we were going to get everybody’s biggest punch, so it was all about staying composed and willing our way to victory.”

And it was Curry who took over. With four massive, dagger threes in the final minutes, the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history capped off his first ever Olympics with a vintage performance that had the French team reeling.

It was a disappointing end to a terrific tournament for the host nation, which had defeated Canada and Germany en route to the final. The French fans at these Olympics have been incredible throughout in rooting for their home athletes, but the unique atmosphere of a French basketball game combined with the usual fervent support made for an electric Bercy Arena through much of Saturday night’s game.

Even in the final minutes as Curry put their team away, the French fans reacted with a mixture of shock, awe, frustration and heartbreak. The Golden State Warriors star simply would not be denied, and the French will take solace in the fact that it took Curry going to his highest highs to defeat them.

The game started off on fire with both teams trading the lead back and forth, the game flying from one end to the court to the other. Neither team was willing to back down – the Americans from the raucous crowd, the French from the incredible group of talent opposite them – and it made for a tight contest throughout the first half.

The French took the lead for the final time in the second quarter on a 8-0 run, but Devin Booker – quietly one of the best players on this American team throughout the whole tournament – hit a three to reestablish the lead. Team USA would not trail again.

But there were moments still when it seemed like the French might cause their fans to blow the roof off of the arena with their noise – and few moments were louder than when Guerschon Yabusele put LeBron James on a poster with a dunk in the closing stages of the second quarter. After a buzzer beater to end the half, the American lead was eight.

But the French opened the third quarter cold and the USA jumped out to a 14-point advantage. The interplay between James, Curry and Kevin Durant was something that most American basketball fans had only dreamed of – three of the best superstars of their generation going full-tilt on the same team, not playing at the one-quarter speed of an NBA All Star Game.

James, in his golden sneakers, had moments where he seemed likely to take the game over as he had so many times during this Olympic run. But in the end, it was France that made the clutch run as Victor Wembanyama, having his best game of the tournament, helped Les Bleus narrow the US lead to six after three quarters. Wembanyama would finish with 26 points.

The quality of play deteriorated somewhat in the fourth as the pace got ever more frantic heading into the closing stages. The French refused to go away, staying within a couple possessions until making a charge in the second half of the quarter. With their typical stifling defense, the French team got within three points of the US.

“France found something the last couple games, you know, changing the rotation, their starting lineup, really, you know, being physical at every position,” USA coach Steve Kerr said. “And I thought they did a great job in the fourth quarter of putting pressure on us, you know. And, you know, they finished the third quarter strong too. There were several moments where it felt like we were going to push it from 10 to 15 and we were going to be in the clear. We just couldn’t get there.”

But then it was Curry time. French coach Vincent Collet will go to bed after this game wondering how his team could let the best shooter of his generation have so many open looks in the closing minutes of such an important game. With so many talented American players on the court, it’s often been a case of pick-your-poison for opposing coaches throughout this tournament.

“It’s not an accident that they’re able to do what they do down the stretch of games, the work, you know, just watching these two guys, day after day after day is really impressive,” Kerr said of the hard work Durant, Curry and other players put in.

In the end, Curry’s shots were simply lethal. He pounded his chest and screamed into the night, popping the USA on his jersey to all corners of the arena. In a career full of incredible moments, Curry will look back on this one as being simply golden.

“Obviously I understand it was gonna be a really tough task with some great teams that we were gonna have to face, and there’s a sense of relief at the end,” Curry said of his Olympics experience. “But it’s more like a sense of accomplishment, obviously, knowing what we were able to do.”

He said on the podium he was “having the best time of my life, because, you know, this might not come around again.”

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

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