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Team USA men's basketball WINS the Olympic gold medal as LeBron James and Stephen Curry overwhelm France and rising star Victor Wembanyama
France had the homecourt advantage and rising star Victor Wembanyama ; but the USA had Stephen Curry, and that was all that mattered in the dying stages of Saturday's gold medal match as Team USA won its fifth straight Olympic gold medal in men's basketball.
The USA held off France 98-87 behind 24 points from Curry, as a star-studded group including LeBron James and Kevin Durant thwarted away a late French rally.
The Americans led by as much as 14 in the fourth quarter but saw that advantage dwindle to just three after a Victor Wembanyama tip-in with just under three minutes remaining.
From there, Curry caught fire as he hit four three-pointers from the 2:48 mark on to see the Americans to the gold.
His final dagger came during a broken play with 35 seconds left, when he heaved in a three-pointer over the arms of Evan Fournier and Nicolas Batum to restore the lead to nine for the USA.
Stephen Curry led the USA with 24 points - half of which came after the 2:48 mark in the fourth quarter
LeBron James was named the MVP of the men's basketball tournament for his play in France
Team USA's men's basketball squad has now won gold in five straight Olympic games
There was no way back for France, and Curry knew it as he did his famous 'night night celebration' - with the last half-minute proving unclimactic for the USA.
James, who was later named the MVP of the men's basketball competition, finished the game with 14 points, six rebounds and nine assists while Durant and Devin Booker both added 15 points for the eventual winners.
'I've been blessed to play basketball at a high level for a very long time,' Curry told NBC's Mike Tirico afterwards. '... This ranks very high in terms of the excitement and the sense of relief getting to the finish line.'
USA head coach Steve Kerr, who also coaches Curry with the Golden State Warriors, added, 'It´s right up there with all of the greatest games of his career.
'The shot-making was just incredible. But under the circumstances, on the road, in Paris, against France for a gold medal, this is storybook stuff. But that´s what Steph does. He likes to be in storybooks.'
Wembanyama impressed in the loss with 26 points and seven rebounds but his individual brilliance wasn't enough, and he was visibly upset after the game as he covered his face in a towel.
The USA lead was 14 early in the third, looking poised to pull away.
But the offense quickly went cold and when Evan Fournier connected on a 3-pointer with 3:05 left in the quarter the lead was down to 65-59 - a 12-4 run by the hosts.
Victor Wembanyama was bitterly disappointed to lose but was tremendous for France
Stephen Curry did his 'night night' celebration after hitting a dagger against France
And with a chance to go up double-digits headed to the fourth, a big USA blunder gave France another jolt of momentum. Anthony Edwards and Durant got their signals crossed on a pass that led to a turnover, Nando De Colo scored to beat the buzzer and the U.S. lead was only 72-66 going into the final 10 minutes.
From there, though, Curry and the heavy favorites heading into these Olympics did enough to avoid the ignominy of a loss in the finals.
'I think we might be the only team in the world whose fans are ashamed of them if they get a silver medal,' Kerr said afterwards. 'That's the pressure that we face.
'But our players, and you saw Steph, they love the pressure. They appreciate this atmosphere and they were fantastic.'
The win also makes Durant the first four-time men´s gold medalist in Olympic basketball history, while James now has three medals and Curry claimed his first gold medal.
'It is special,' Curry said. 'Two years ago, when we [the Golden State Warriors] won our last championship, I knew this was going to be on the horizon. Any mission that you take on, you give it everything you have.'