Paris Olympics: Curry saves the Dream Team against brave Serbia and takes them to the final

Even the 17-point advantage was insufficient for Serbia to beat the Dream Team. The Americans took the lead for the first time (after the first quarter) two minutes before the end. Steph Curry led and saved the USA with his incredible three-point shots and 36 points, while Joel Embiid had 19 and LeBron James 16. Serbia had three double-digit players as well: Bogdan Bogdanovic (20), Nikola Jokic (17, 11 assists), and Aleksa Avramovic (15). The Dream Team will play the host France in the final, while Serbia will face Germany in the bronze medal game.

They say it's hard to beat the same team twice in the same tournament. Perhaps. But if you are the Dream Team, that does not apply to you. Moreover, it seems that the US squad, full of NBA superstars, can beat anyone as many times as they want. After the 110-84 defeat in the group stage, Serbia wanted to prove that they learned the lesson and that the Americans were beatable.

Both teams' outstanding three-point shots marked the first quarter. While the Serbian team's points were evenly distributed, the USA was led by only one man - Steph Curry. The Golden State Warriors guard scored 14 out of his team's first 15 points and finished the first period with 17 in total. However, even his fantastic performance was not enough to take the lead since Serbia had an eight-point advantage - 31-23.

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Serbia continued playing amazingly in the second period which resulted in the 17-point lead halfway through the quarter, primarily thanks to the excellent three-point percentage and Bogdan Bogdanovic's and Aleksa Avramovic's points. LeBron James was pretty nervous and talked to the refs and the opponents more often than usual, while Joel Embiid was mentally entirely out of the game, probably because the French crowd booed him every time he took the ball. The Dream Team eventually reduced the gap to "-11" at the break - 54-43.

During the third quarter, Serbia surprisingly kept the lead thanks to smart offensive plays and strong defence. Bogdanovic scored a few shots from behind the arc, and Jokic was in charge of every Serbian attack. Curry answered with more three-pointers, while Kevin Durant finally scored some points after being almost impeccable in the group stage game against the same rival. However, the Eagles were constantly 10-12 points in front, finishing the quarter with a 76-63 lead.

One of the best moments in the entire match happened minutes into the last period when Serbia's Marko Guduric scored an and-one three-pointer. That seemed to have angered the Americans, who slowly but surely reduced the gap before taking the 87-86 lead two minutes before the end after another Curry's long-distance basket. As if that moment disheartened the Serbs, the Dream Team went on to increase their advantage to the biggest "+5" and eventually win the match 95-91.