Stephen Curry delivered a heroic performance on Thursday night in Paris, rescuing Team USA from a 17-point deficit to secure a thrilling 95-91 victory over Serbia in the Olympic semifinals. The win propels the United States into the gold medal game, where they’ll aim for a fifth consecutive Olympic title on Saturday.
Curry, the Golden State Warriors star, scored an Olympic career-high 36 points, including a record-setting nine 3-pointers—the most ever made in a single Olympic game.
Curry started hot, scoring 14 of the first 15 points for Team USA and reaching his career-high in the first quarter alone. Despite his efforts, the rest of the team struggled, shooting just 1-of-8 from the field in the opening 10 minutes. Serbia capitalized on this, building an 11-point lead by halftime and maintaining their advantage deep into the fourth quarter.
It was Joel Embiid who sparked the American comeback with a personal 7-0 run, followed by a blocked shot that set up a game-tying drive from LeBron James. Curry then nailed his ninth 3-pointer of the night, and he and James added layups to give the U.S. its largest lead of the game, which they held onto for the win.
Embiid finished with 19 points and four rebounds, while James recorded a triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. Curry, Embiid, and James were the only Team USA players to score in double figures.
Bogdan Bogdanovic led Serbia with 20 points in the loss, which sends them to the bronze medal game against Germany. Nikola Jokić added 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Aleksa Avramovic scored 15.
In the other semifinal, France defeated Germany 73-69 to secure a spot in the gold medal game. Guerschon Yabusele led France with 17 points, and Victor Wembanyama contributed 11 points and seven rebounds, setting up a rematch of the Tokyo Olympics final where the U.S. beat France for the gold.
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