It’s hard to believe that one of the greatest basketball games since the Peach Basketball era took place on a Thursday afternoon in August.
Paris.
Listen to me now and believe me later.
Who would have thought that I would be standing nervously in front of the television, wondering if arguably the greatest collection of players of all time, coached by the elite of the elite, would lose an Olympic semi-final?
This was a real possibility.
I know for sure that I was not alone in my nervousness.
The United States trailed by 17 points in the first half. They were outscored in each of the first three 10-minute periods. They trailed by 15 with 32 minutes left in the third quarter and were down 12 at the start of the fourth quarter.
At that point, I wasn’t sure if I would report on the situation if the unthinkable happened, but I thought that if I did, I would start with a nod to the fact that the best team with the best coaches doesn’t always win.
Serbia played what head mentor Steve Kerr called a “perfect” game.
He and his fellow mentors even mentioned Villanova’s victory over Georgetown in the 1985 title game. Nova made 22 of the 28 FGs they attempted on Rupp that night. Nine of 10 in the 2nd.
The Serbs, led by Jokic, made 15 of 39 shots from beyond the three-point line. I could swear I don’t remember a single missed shot. Except for one completely open shot toward the end of the US comeback.
OK, I’m not a journalist, but I left out the main point.
The USA survived 95-91.
But my goodness, my goodness, my goodness, it was so sphincter-tightening to get there.
If you do the math, you’ll know that it took a flawless 4th round of 32:15 to accomplish that.
The best have proven why they are the BEST.
LeBron James achieved a winning triple-double. 16.12.10.
After scoring just 28 points in his last four games, Steph Curry sank 36. In the courtyard of my favorite museum, the Musée d’Orsay, he hit 9/14.
Kevin Durant scored just 9, but 7 of them came in the final quarter. And while he’s not known for his defense, he was excellent when it came to tough defense.
Joel Embid had a great performance. 19 points on 8/11 hits.
These guys are all former NBA MVPs. Just like the pivot for the opponent. Five such outstanding ballers on the court at the same time.
This was basketball at its most brilliant.
The turning point came with 7:19 minutes left, the USA was still 11 points behind, 67-78.
Durant sank a three-pointer. Assist to LeBron. While Jokic fouled Anthony Davis. The Americans kept the ball. Devin Booker sank a three-pointer. Assist to LeBron.
Six points of possession. They help.
The comeback was painful but unstoppable.
With 3:43 left, James equalized at 84:84. Serbia responded with a deuce.
At 2:24, Steph hit a three-pointer. Assist: Oh, do I really have to print his name?
The Americans did not give up this lead. Curry hit the nail on the head when he scored a free throw with 8 minutes left.
What a great, great game!!!
An August afternoon for eternity.
* * * * *
The other semi-final, which the boys finally won 73:69, was also hard-fought.
It’s not that France and Germany don’t have a history, you know?
In 1870 there was the Franco-Prussian War.
A man named Otto von Bismarck was involved. A boat was later named after him. Keyword: Johnny Horton.
I would like to say that I know quite a bit about the conflict from my all-time favorite history class, taught by the oh-so-weird but informative Dr. Jefferson Davis Futch, but that wouldn’t be true.
But a quick visit to britannica.com shows me that the main reason for the European skirmish in question was the rise to power of a certain Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.
Truth: My goal in providing such very peripheral historical context was to see if I could spell the guy’s name correctly.
Anyway . . .
. . . USA against France for gold on Saturday afternoon.
The house will rock.
— CD Kaplan
