Team USA’s old guard delivers in gold medal game win over France

In what doubtless was their last sport as Olympians, Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant willed Staff USA to its fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal.

The trio of future Basketball Corridor of Famers mixed for 53 factors on 54% taking pictures Saturday because the U.S. held off a spirited upset bid by host France to win 98-87 at Bercy Area.

Curry, the hero of Thursday’s semifinal comeback in opposition to Serbia, scored a team-high 24 and drilled eight 3-pointers, together with 4 within the last three minutes to place away a French squad led by 20-year-old phenom Victor Wembanyama (game-high 26 factors, seven rebounds).

James completed with 14 factors, 10 assists, six rebounds, 5 steals and one block. Even at age 39, he was Staff USA’s greatest participant all through the Olympics. Durant, who was bumped as much as the beginning lineup for the ultimate, scored 15. He, James and Curry all performed at the very least 29 of the sport’s 40 minutes.

Jayson Tatum, whose DNP-CD in opposition to Serbia sparked widespread criticism of head coach Steve Kerr, performed 11 largely nondescript minutes within the last. The Celtics participant who had the best impression Saturday was guard Jrue Vacation, who hit one clutch 3-pointer simply earlier than halftime and one other within the fourth quarter, with each stretching the U.S.’s result in double digits.

Tatum checked in halfway by way of the primary quarter and shortly made an impression, flying downcourt for a transition dunk off a James steal inside his first minute on the courtroom.

That was the one basket Tatum made — he tried two jumpers and missed each — however he was lively on the defensive finish. He received a pair of robust first-half matchups in opposition to France’s facilities, serving to power a Wembanyama turnover within the lane and later denying a Rudy Gobert post-up.

Total, although, Boston’s centerpiece celebrity was a bit participant within the win, as he was all through his time in Paris. He completed with two factors, three rebounds and one steal.

Three years after averaging 15.1 factors per sport on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics — second-most on that workforce behind Durant — Tatum scored simply 21 complete factors in these Olympics.

With a lot of this Staff USA roster now doubtless carried out with worldwide play — seven of the 12 can be 34 or older in 2028, and Curry, James and Durant all can be over 40 — the 26-year-old Tatum needs to be among the many headliners on the following Olympic workforce in Los Angeles. The 27-year-old Jaylen Brown might be, too, after being controversially left off the 2024 roster. However Kerr clearly favored his outdated guard on this one.

Vacation completed with six factors on 2-of-5 taking pictures, 4 assists and one rebound in 19 minutes. Derrick White, the one Celtic to see motion in every of Staff USA’s first 5 Olympic contests, was one of many odd males out Saturday. After a less-than-stellar outing in opposition to Serbia, the 30-year-old guard watched the finale from the bench together with Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, the U.S.’s twelfth man for a lot of the event.