The USA men’s basketball team was able to escape with their four consecutive Olympic gold medal in an 87-82 victory over France in Tokyo.
Mission accomplished!
Four consecutive 🥇🥇🥇🥇 pic.twitter.com/9DwVl71GJ7
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 7, 2021
Team USA had a 10-point lead with under three minutes remaining, but France went on a big run to make it a three-point game with 10 seconds left. Kevin Durant made two free throws — shortly after Damian Lillard missed two — before Nicolas Batum missed a three for France, securing the USA victory.
And right after the buzzer, Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine threw down a ridiculous — yet rather casual — between-the-legs celebratory dunk.
TEAM USA WINS GOLD! 🇺🇸🥇
This is the men's @usabasketball team's fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal. #TokyoOlympics
📺 NBC
💻 https://t.co/ikwg8cKXGC
📱 NBC Sports App pic.twitter.com/nf8AXCqPrY— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 7, 2021
But it was Durant that really stole the show, once again. Durant has been on another level than than anybody else on the floor this entire tournament, and he dropped 29 points — 9-of-18 from the field, 8-of-9 from the charity stripe — on France to lead the USA to gold. It’s Durant’s third Olympic gold medal, and we can safely call him the Team USA GOAT at this point.
KD's 3 gives @TeamUSA an 11-point lead over France.@TeamUSA x #TokyoOlympics
📺 NBC
💻 https://t.co/KUtVmoSGW5
📱 NBC Sports App pic.twitter.com/1nLYuTzv5v— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 7, 2021
Everybody else on the court watching Kevin Durant. pic.twitter.com/EeBvo0vjrQ
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) August 7, 2021
– 3x Olympic Gold medalist
– 4x Gold medalist overall
– All-time Olympic leading scorer
– FIBA World Championship MVPUSA men’s basketball GOAT pic.twitter.com/4ZjKrBMc3U
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) August 7, 2021
KEVIN DURANT 🇺🇸@TeamUSA x #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/0e8oCY8fmt
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 7, 2021
Jrue Holiday had a remarkable Olympic performance as well, especially after just finishing an NBA Finals run as the starting point guard for the title-winning Milwaukee Bucks. His defense was incredible all tournament, and without it, the USA may not find a way to beat France.
Holiday with the steal.
Holiday with the breakaway.
Holiday will hammer it DOWN. 🔨@TeamUSA x #TokyoOlympics📺 NBC
💻 https://t.co/ikwg8cKXGC
📱 NBC Sports App pic.twitter.com/i5lCzionpP— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 7, 2021
how is jrue holiday not completely gassed given his last few months of basketball
— Joon Lee (@joonlee) August 7, 2021
Jrue Holiday has just steamrolled opposing guards defensively all tournament. He’s been unbelievable
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) August 7, 2021
And the team defense as a whole really stepped up when it mattered in these games. Just like vs Spain and Australia, the USA got off to a terrible start and their shots weren’t falling (Team USA didn’t lead until there was just over a minute left in the first quarter), but their tenacity and execution on defense clamped down to turn the game around. That’s a huge credit to the coaching from Gregg Popovich, Steve Kerr, Lloyd Pierce, and Jay Wright, but it also shows that the players really bought in and adjusted.
Really happy for Popovich too. Spent the last five years saying and doing just about all the right things when plenty of people did not, and clearly this role and opportunity meant a lot to him.
— Jay Rigdon (@jayrigdon5) August 7, 2021
This was a well-earned gold medal that was far from easy, and it was clear that wasn’t going to be the case when the USA lost consecutive exhibition games ahead of the Olympics. And of course after this same France team beat the USA 83-76 two weeks ago in the Olympics.
But Team USA went into another gear when it mattered most, and now they’re gold medalists as a result.
