PARIS — Kevin Durant and Devin Booker hit consecutive 3-pointers on the same possession Thursday, sparking a massive fourth-quarter American rally and an eventual 95-91 semifinal victory over Serbia.
The U.S. will take on host France, a semifinal winner over Germany, for the gold medal at 9:30 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday.
Serbia will play Germany for the bronze medal 11 a.m. local time, 5 a.m. ET Saturday.
Steph Curry, whose storied career includes two NBA MVP awards and four championship rings, said this win was a remarkable moment in his basketball life.
"It was special," said Curry, who scored a game-high 36 points. "It was the most fun I've had in a very long time and to dig deep like we did with this group and get a win, it was special. I'm kind of basking in that right now."
In a video clip released by USA Basketball after the game, Durant said every American player will cherish this win for the rest of their lives.
“I know we’re going to win a gold but you got to celebrate the small moments too," Durant said. "I guarantee you, everybody here will never forget about this night. Everybody in here will remember this night for the rest of their lives."
Before Thursday night, the Americans had been stomping on opponents since they set foot in France. They won three group play games by a total of 64 points before they beat Brazil, 122-87, in the quarterfinals.
But Serbia proved to be anything but a walkover Thursday night, and it took Curry's heroics to keep the game as close as it was before the Americans caught fire late.
“It was only a matter of time before he had one of these games," said LeBron James, who contributed 16 points and 12 rebounds. "You could see it every day — he puts too much work in not to have a game like this. We wouldn’t want it any other way, and it was the perfect time for Steph to come out and do what he did.”
Serbia, which led by as much as 17, seemed to be in control well into the fourth period when lightning struck.
Durant’s first long-range shot with 7:19 left in regulation pulled the Americans to within 78-70, giving the U.S. a spark of life that had been missing all night at Bercy Arena.
And as he was launching the jumper, Serbia’s Nikola Jokić fouled Anthony Davis. Possession stayed with the Americans, and momentum swung when Booker connected moments later.
Curry rattled home a 3-pointer with 2:24 left to put the U.S. ahead 87-86 — a lead the Americans would not relinquish.
Then in the next 43 seconds, James and Curry followed with back-to-back fast-break layups, and the U.S. never looked back.
Curry's game-high points came on 12-for-19 shooting from the floor, 9-for-14 from deep.
“We have one goal out here, and that’s to bring home gold," Booker said. "So down, I think, 17 or 18 and climbed our way up out of a hole … we knew this was going to be a test tonight.”
Jokić, the Serbian star and reigning NBA MVP, added 17 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in defeat. Bogdan Bogdanović scored a team-high 20 points.
U.S. big man Joel Embiid said that even though the team was down for almost the entire game, he never lost hope and knew it would take just one spark to get the Americans rolling.
"We were just sticking around," said Embiid, who started slow but played an impactful second half, ending up with 19 points. "We made a couple stops and went in transition."
Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers star who was born in Cameroon and once considered playing for France, was booed every time he touched the ball.
He insists he's fond of France and receives the fans' boos as their form of "love."
"It's going to be fun," Embiid said of Saturday's title game. "The banter against the fans, that's love, that's respect to me."
