As expected, the USA is inevitable.
Despite being down as much as 17 points, the USA gutted out a resilient 95-91 win over Serbia on Thursday to move onto the gold medal game at the Paris Olympics.
Heading into the fourth quarter down 13 points, the superstar-studded USA team went on a 21-8 run to open the frame and bring back a game that looked lost. But when a team employing the likes of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid takes the court, the word loss might not be in its vocabulary.
Serbia was ridiculously hot right out of the gate, firing on all cylinders to build up an 11-point lead at the half. They shot 50 per cent from long-range in the opening 20 minutes and answered everything Curry threw his way.
But it wasn’t enough, not against a team rife with legacy and a chance at a five-peat at gold on the line.
A huge Curry three-pointer with 2:24 left gave the Americans the lead for the first time since the 6:02 mark in the first, and from there, they closed it out perfectly with fastbreak layups from James and Curry to seal the deal.
The USA will now head to its fifth-straight Olympic final with a chance to five-peat for gold against host nation France.
Serbia, meanwhile, heads to the third-place game in a rematch of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Final against eventual winners Germany.
