Gregg Popovich’s men headed to Tokyo after defeats to
Nigeria and Australia in lead-up exhibition matches, sparking questions around
their global dominance.
They then crashed to seventh-ranked France in their opening
group game, their first defeat at an Olympics since the 2004 in Athens.
But spearheaded by Durant, they steadied the ship and began
gelling, with a French team led by NBA stars Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier and
Nicolas Batum unable to repeat the feat in the final.
The Brooklyn Nets’ Durant was once again the US backbone as
he joined Carmelo Anthony as a three-time title-winner, after being part of the
triumphant teams in 2012 and 2016.
He had already reinforced his stature by surpassing his
fellow great during group play to become their all-time leading Olympic
points-scorer.
Durant scored 30 points in each of his last two gold medal
games, and while he didn’t quite match that on Saturday, he again proved how
crucial he is in pacing their offense.
He ended with three assists and six rebounds while Boston
Celtic guard Jayson Tatum had 19 points and seven rebounds.
Utah Jazz centre Gobert and the Celtics’ Fournier both sank
16 points to lead the way for France.
It was the eighth meeting between the two teams at an
Olympics and their third final after London in 1948 and at Sydney 2000, with
the US winning on both occasions.
In fact, France’s win in the group stage was their only
Olympic victory against Team USA.
France led 10-4 with five minutes left of the first quarter
with the Americans shooting just 2-of-11 from the floor, including 0-of-8 from
outside the arc, before they finally found some rhythm and clicked into gear.
Khris Middleton drained a crucial three-pointer to draw them
level and three successful free throws from Durant gave them the lead for the
first time as they ended the quarter with a 22-18 advantage.
Durant contributed 21 points in the first half which ended
with the US 44-39 ahead, but France did well to rally after falling 13 points
adrift at one stage with Gobert instrumental with his 13 points.
They closed to within two points early in the third quarter
but whenever they tried to make something happen offensively, Durant or Jrue
Holiday hit back straight away.
The US went into the final stretch 71-63 in front and hung
on as France threw everything they had at them.
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