Jerami Grant, USA Basketball Win Gold
Kevin Durant scored 29 points while the United States played tough defense to get revenge on France and win the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics with an 87-82 triumph. It was the fourth straight Olympic gold medal for USA Basketball. Former Syracuse star Jerami Grant did not play, but gets a gold medal in his first Olympics.
Not only was it gold for USA Basketball, but it was the 100th overall medal for the United States in the Tokyo Olympics. That mark leads all countries.
Durant added six rebounds and three assists to his game-high 29 points. Jayson Tatum added 19 points and seven rebounds, while Jrue Holiday 11 points and four steals. Bam Adebayo scored six points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out four assists and blocked three shots. Damian Lillard had 11 points and three assists. Rudy Gobert led France with 16 points and eight rebounds.
France outrebounded the United States 41-34, but the US forced 18 French turnovers.
France jumped out to a quick 10-4 lead early, but the United States responded with a 14-5 run to take a lead it would not give up for the rest of the game. Despite that, France held tough for much of the night.
The US extended the lead to double digits in the second quarter, but the French stayed within reach as they trimmed the lead back to just five entering halftime.
As has been the case throughout the Olympics, the Americans owned the third quarter. The lead was pushed to as many as 14 and appeared to be on the verge of a blowout. But back to back threes by France cut the lead to eight with one quarter remaining.
The US advantage dipped to three with under six minutes to play, but that was when Damian Lillard helped take control of the game. He hit a pair of jumpers and Jrue Holiday made a transition layup for a quick 6-0 run to push the advantage back to nine.
The US missed three free throws in the final seconds to keep the door open. However, a couple of missed three pointers prevented France from making it more interesting. A pair of Kevin Durant free throws with 8.8 seconds to go clinched the victory.
The win not only won the gold medal for the United States, but also exacted revenge from a loss in group play that opened Olympic play. France topped the Americans 83-76 in the prelims. That result had many questioning if the US would even medal let alone win gold. USA Basketball answered those questions loudly.
