The U.S. team was saved by some of the stars of their generation.
Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant led the U.S. team to rally from a 17-point deficit to beat Nikola Jokic and Serbia 95-91 in the Olympic men’s basketball semifinals, avoiding one of the biggest upsets in history and setting up a showdown with host France in the gold medal game on Saturday.
Curry saved his breakout Olympic performance for a tougher opponent’s most pressing moments, finishing with 36 points (9-of-14 3-pointers) and eight rebounds, while James recorded a triple-double (16 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists) and Durant made a string of clutch shots late in the game to help the Warriors overcome a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit.
The trio, who hold a combined 10 NBA title rings and seven league MVP awards, reunited shortly after the final buzzer and erupted in emotional shouts of joy and relief after what remains one of the most meaningful wins of their lives.
It was one of the most fascinating matches a national team has ever played, an experience that for a long time seemed unattainable.
Led by the reigning NBA MVP, Serbia dominated the opening 30 minutes, putting the U.S. team in the impossible role of underdog for perhaps the first time in decades.
Ever since the Dream Team was formed in 1988 to avenge the country’s loss to a college-led team, Team USA has been a nearly unstoppable superpower, arriving at every Olympic Games with the expectation of a gold medal. Anything less would be a tragedy.
Since 1992, the United States has compiled a 57-1 record in men’s basketball with seven gold medals, fielding a roster of NBA stars and winning a gold medal in every Olympic Games except 2004, when coach Larry Brown decided that Stephon Marbury, Richard Jefferson and Lamar Odom should have more playing time than James and Carmelo Anthony. The problem is even more pronounced in women’s basketball, where the U.S. team has won seven consecutive gold medals and 59 consecutive Olympic titles.
Teams are memorable, but on-court moments are rarely. The most notable exception was the “Redeem Team” in the gold medal game against Spain in 2008, a game in which the stakes were raised by the humiliation of four years earlier.
Thanks to the Dream Team, the game has spread around the world, and the past six MVP awards have been won by international stars (Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid). Canada’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Slovenia’s Luka Doncic came in second and third, respectively, in this year’s voting. But the Americans’ unparalleled talent from top to bottom still creates the impression that nearly every game is a matchup between a 1-seed and a 16-seed, robbing fans of the excitement and fun of watching games that are lost by large margins or where the final score is too close for comfort.
It’s been 32 years since the U.S. finished without winning the most medals at a Summer Olympics, and the most exciting victories remain the most unexpected.
Miracle on ice. Rulon Gardner. Cole Hocker added to the list this week with an upset win in the 1,500 meters. The U.S. women’s rugby team’s bronze medal was treated like a gold medal.
It’s the Olympics, a corrupt, multi-billion dollar waste in its purest form, elevating unknowns to unforgettable status.
The U.S. basketball team, made up of gods worshipped across the world and who come down from Mount Olympus to visit mortals every four years, could never go that route.
When James was selected as one of the country’s two flag bearers at the opening ceremony, it felt odd for such an iconic figure whose Olympic participation may not even be mentioned in the first 1,000 words of his obituary.
While it was impressive that the 39-year-old James foregoed a summer break to try and win a fourth gold medal, his return seemed unnecessary, costing him a roster spot that could have been used to groom a successor and cement his status as one of the league’s young stars.
Instead, coach Steve Kerr has centered James around one of the most talented players in the history of the sport, playing the legend a team-high 32 minutes on Wednesday while giving Jayson Tatum, fresh off winning an NBA title and being named First Team All-NBA for the third consecutive year, another DNP.
The three greatest stars of their generation, all over 35 years old, finally came together to pull together like Jordan, Magic and Bird, rescued the U.S. from its first Olympic loss in 20 years and produced a rare, all-time great moment for this rotational juggernaut.
There’s another 40 minute wait.
Today’s back cover
Scoreboard
Giants 14, Lions 3: Brian Daboll made his debut as play-caller and got a taste of the new kickoff rules, but it was the preseason and injuries were a big factor, and the Giants had some uncertainty with new backup quarterback Drew Lock. Tommy DeVito’s days with the Giants may not be over yet.
Mets 9, Rockies 1: And that’s exactly what happened: Pete Alonso hit two home runs and the Mets won Game 3 handily in Denver, moving them into third place in the wild card standings. Seattle is up next.
Angels 9, Yankees 4: Nestor Cortez was shellacked, Anthony Volpe left early with a sore leg, it rained in the Bronx, and it was all just not good.
Finish Line
Noah Lyles will leave Paris as the fastest man in the world, but he’s wondering what could have been.
Lyles, who was in position to become the first American man to win gold medals in both the 100 and 200 meters since Carl Lewis in 1984, won bronze in his favorite event, the 200 meters, for the second consecutive Olympics, but revealed after Thursday’s final that he had tested positive for COVID-19.
Lyles was the favorite to win the race but finished third in 19.70 seconds, behind Botswana’s Leslie Tebogo (19.46 seconds) and fellow American Kenny Bednarek (19.62 seconds).
Lyles appeared extremely fatigued after the race and received medical attention on the track before leaving the arena in a wheelchair.
“My first thought was, don’t panic, because I’ve been in much worse,” Lyles told NBC. “I felt like I’ve run in much worse conditions and I just took it day by day, staying as hydrated as I could. The quarantine. I’m sure that definitely had an impact, but I’ve never been more proud of myself to come this far and get the bronze medal, after being so disappointed at the last Olympics.” [with a bronze medal]and this time around, I couldn’t be more proud.”
About an hour later, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone added to her legend by winning gold again in the 400m hurdles and setting her sixth world record (50.37).
The New Jersey native is the first woman in Olympic history to win the event back-to-back times.
False history
After 62 years, Casey Stengel’s Mets had a rival.
The White Sox fired manager Pedro Grifol on Thursday, shortly after ending an AL-record-tying 21-game losing streak, and Grifol had led Chicago to a rout of 120 losses in a season set by the newcomers in 1962.
The White Sox, currently on a 39-123 pace, have named former All-Star Grady Sizemore as interim manager.
Sizemore, 42, joined the staff this season after serving as a minor league instructor with the Guardians and a minor league coach with the Diamondbacks. The White Sox also fired bench coach Charlie Montoyo, third base coach Eddie Rodriguez and assistant batting coach Mike Tosar.
The White Sox (28-89), who suffered their first losing streak in MLB history in 36 years, are more than 40 games out of first place in the American League Central Division.
General manager Chris Getz has mentioned the possibility of the White Sox claiming ownership of the Mets’ infamous record.
“Well, that’s something we certainly want to avoid,” Getz said. “Nobody wants to be associated with a record like that.”
From New York to Paris
What was born in the Bronx now belongs to the world.
More than 50 years after DJ Kool Herc created the template for infidelity at a party in a recreation room at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, the 2024 Olympics will announce its final event on Friday in Paris’ largest public square — one of the most unlikely events in Olympic history.
Long mislabelled as breakdancing, breaking has fit in naturally on the Olympic stage, where sport is unreliable, after a rise and fall in the 1980s, before being reintroduced and, following its success at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, re-emerged with its gymnastics DNA and appeal to a younger audience.
“I’m curious to see how the outside world will perceive us, but I think it’s going to be amazing,” B-girl Logan Edler of the U.S. team, known as Logistx, recently told Sports+. “Just watch. People will see how amazing this dance is and they’ll want to do it again.”
32 breakers (b-boys and b-girls) will compete in one-on-one dance battles and the judges will score the performances on creativity, individuality, technique, variety, performance and musicality.
Among the four members of Team USA is Sunny Choi, a 35-year-old Queens resident who quit a high-paying corporate job last year to pursue breaking full time.
Also representing the Bronx is Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Sarif Maine, who will compete for a medal in the triple jump final on Friday.
Mane, the reigning NCAA champion from Fairleigh Dickinson, advanced to the final round with a jump that tied for third in the preliminaries.
Before taking to the track, Mane will listen to a voicemail left for him by his late father — just as the 22-year-old has done before every competition since his father died of COVID-19 in 2020.
Today’s Outlook
Nick Morabito has written his name into the record books.
The Mets outfielder stole bases twice Thursday night, setting a Brooklyn Cyclones single-season record with 38. Morabito was a force at the top of the lineup, reaching base three times with two singles and a walk and adding two runs.
The 75th overall pick in the 2022 draft is batting .292 since being promoted to High-A in early May.
Andrew Battifarano
What we’re reading 👀
🏀 On the day he was officially introduced as the Knicks’ captain, Jalen Brunson explained the big $113 million decision he made when he signed his contract extension. “Winning trumps everything else I do individually,” Brunson said.
🏈 Chuck Clark missed last season with an injury shortly after being traded to the Jets, which left the veteran safety wondering if the Jets would need him if he was healthy. But they did, The Washington Post’s Mark Cannizaro writes.
Pete Alonso to the Cubs? The Washington Post’s Jon Heyman “may not bet” on the free agent outcome.
🏈 Ian O’Connor’s upcoming Aaron Rodgers biography will reveal the Jets quarterback’s recent relationship with his estranged father.
⚽ Mauricio Pochettino looks set to be the next man to turn down a call-up to the US national team.
🥇 Grant Holloway, there’s no denying it.
