The Dream Team succeeded in advancing to the final after a long struggle.
The U.S. national basketball team came from behind to beat Serbia in the men's basketball semifinals at the 2024 Paris Olympics held at the Versi Stadium in Paris, France on the 9th (Korea time). The Dream Team has succeeded in advancing to the final and will try to win the gold medal for the fifth consecutive Olympics. The U.S. will play France in the final after defeating Germany. Stephen Curry scored 36 points, including nine 3-pointers, and became the top contributor to the victory. Joel Embiid scored 19 points and LeBron James scored 16.
In the quarterfinals, the U.S. beat Brazil 122-87 and Serbia beat Australia 95-90 in overtime to reach the semifinals. The two teams clashed twice earlier. The U.S. won both the warm-up match (105 to 79) on the 18th of last month and the first group match (110 to 84) on the 29th of last month. The U.S. struggled with Serbia's powerful organization, but ultimately won. Serbia's Nikola Jokic scored 17-11 assists and Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 20 points, but failed to overcome the last crisis.
The U.S. has Curry-Devin Booker-James-Zru Halladay-Mid as a starting member. The first quarter was Curry's one-man show. He drove in as many as 17 points out of 23 points recorded by the U.S. He attempted seven 3-pointers and drove in five. However, other players scored poorly. The only field goal was James' three-pointer. Serbia was strong. He defended the U.S. strong attack with systematic defense. He took the lead by scoring evenly around Jokichi. Bogdanovic scored nine points, and Alexa Abramovich scored eight. 31-23, Serbia led by eight points, ending the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Derrick White-Anthony Edwards-Kevin Durant-Bam Adebayo-Anthony Davis stepped up. While the U.S. was blocked by Serbia's defense and had difficulty scoring, Serbia widened the score with consecutive 3-pointers. 39-25, eventually the United States called for operational time. Serbia's momentum continued. Jokic blocked LeBron's layup shot and scored. Made a three-point play with extra free throws. The U.S. also found a clue as James's reading came to life. James and Curry chased with a three-point shot, but Serbia also made a three-point shot at every crisis and did not let go of the flow. The second quarter also ended with a 54-43 lead by Serbia. The overall shooting sense of the U.S. was not good, with the success rate of free throws remaining at 50%.
The situation did not change much in the third quarter. The U.S. tried to counterattack by putting Durant, but the gap rarely narrowed. Serbia produced a 3-pointer with a great team play. The U.S. countered with Curry's one-man show. The U.S., which revived the outer attack, reduced Curry's pass to six points with Halladay's 3-pointer. A seesaw game continued with a six-point gap. Serbia hit again. Starting with Vasilye Michic, who received Jokic's pass, making a three-point shot, Marco Gudrich's consecutive points immediately widened the gap to 15 points. The U.S. narrowed the gap with Durant's score. In the end, the third quarter also ended with Serbia's 76-63 lead.
In the final four quarters, the U.S. began its chase with back-to-back runs by James and Curry. As soon as the U.S. tried to get on the flow, Jokic made a three-point play with an exquisite play. But the United States did not hesitate to sit down. Durant and Booker cut the gap to five points with back-to-back 3-pointers. 78-73. Serbia cut the flow to operational time. The two teams exchanged points by five points. Serbia's aggressive offensive rebound was powerful. The U.S. also followed Embiid's postplay. 84-80. With 5 minutes left, the U.S. countered with a full-court press. Embiid scored, followed by a block shot. The U.S. brought the game to square one with James' drive-in with 3:41 left.
Serbia reorganized its attack from Jokic. Embiid's error overlapped to take the lead again. But the U.S. had Curry. A 3-pointer finally gave the U.S. the lead. It continued to James' breakthrough and widened the score. Curry widened the gap to five points with a layup shot after the interception. 91-86. Serbia trailed by two runs on Jokic's score in the last minute, but Curry made two free throws to open the score 95-91. The game was over as it was.
vanbasten@sportschosun.com
