Team USA needed a spark and Steph Curry delivered when it mattered the most as he’s done for his entire professional basketball career.
Up only three points with 2:48 left in the game, Curry put France’s Guerschon Yabusele on skates and hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead to six. It would be the first of four 3-pointers Curry would hit in the closing minutes of the game.
The fourth 3-pointer was the biggest with the U.S. up six points.
Curry flashed toward the top of the arc to try and create space between himself and Nic Batum. He got the ball from Kevin Durant and dribbled to his left. He dribbled behind his back as Evan Fournier tried to help Batum guard Curry. The Golden State Warriors star had Batum and Fournier’s hands in his face as he threw up the shot with six seconds on the shot clock.
Bang.
Curry nailed it and the U.S. won the game, 98-87.
“That was an unbelievable moment,” Curry told NBC’s Mike Tirico after the game. “I’ve been blessed to play basketball at a high level for a very long time. I don’t know … This ranks very high in terms of the excitement and sense of relief getting to the finish line.”
Curry had 24 points – all from 3-pointers.
He set out on his quest to win a gold medal after the 2022 NBA Championship win over the Boston Celtics. He reflected on getting his first gold medal with Tirico.
“It is special,” he said. “Two years ago, when we won our last championships, I knew that this was gonna be on the horizon and something that I was excited to go after. Anything you sign up for, any mission that you take on, you give everything you have … these last five weeks together with this group has been nothing but 1-2-3 gold. That’s what we’ve seen saying.
“So, for us to finally accomplish that, for me to get a gold medal is insane and I thank God for the opportunity to experience it.”
Durant and Devin Booker each had 15 points. LeBron James finished with 14 points.
It’s the fifth consecutive gold medal for Team USA in men’s basketball and the fourth for Durant himself.
France finishes with silver medals in back-to-back Olympics.
Victor Wembanyama had 26 points and seven rebounds in the loss. Yabusele had 20 points.
