Steph Curry ignites his game, lifts USA basketball in crucial moment
PARIS — Steph Curry has been in Paris for nearly two weeks.
His scoring was late arriving, but it got to Bercy Arena on the banks of the Seine just in time to rescue the United States men’s basketball team from enduring a devastating and shocking defeat at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Curry scored a game-high 36 points, kept the U.S. afloat when Serbia threatened to make it a blowout and delivered in the game’s stretch run, helping the U.S. reach the gold-medal game against France in a 95-91 victory Thursday. The U.S. is going for its fifth consecutive Olympic gold.
“Haven’t shot the ball well the whole tournament, but it doesn’t waver your confidence to meet the moment,” Curry said in the aftermath of a dramatic comeback after the U.S. trailed by 13 to start the fourth quarter.
It was a special game between two teams.
2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.
“It’s one of the greatest basketball games I’ve ever been a part of,” said U.S. coach Steve Kerr, who has four NBA titles as coach of Golden State.
And it was a special game from one of the transcendent superstars of a generation.
“I’ve seen Steph do this over and over again,” Kerr said.
Curry scored 17 points in the first quarter, had 20 at halftime and even as the U.S. fell behind 17 in the second quarter and trailed 76-63 headed into the fourth quarter, Curry kept shooting and kept scoring. His performance was one point shy of tying Carmelo Anthony for best single-game Olympic offensive output by a U.S. player.
Curry’s 3-point shot with 2:24 left in the fourth quarter gave the U.S. its first lead at 87-86 since midway through the first quarter, his layup put the U.S. up 91-86 and his two free throws with eight seconds to go made it 95-91.
Without Curry’s offensive performance, the U.S. is playing for bronze Saturday instead of gold. And other than it being Curry, who is playing in his first Olympics, there was nothing that said that kind of game was coming from Curry in Paris.
“It doesn’t matter if you shoot three times or however many I shot tonight,” Curry said. “You stay confident.”
In four previous games – three in group play and against Brazil in the quarterfinals – Curry had scored just 29 points on 35.7% shooting from the field and 25% on 3-pointers. Those are not Steph Curry numbers.
“Everybody on our team and on the coaching staff knew he was going to have a game,” Kerr said. “It was just a matter of time. It didn’t surprise me that it came on the night we desperately needed it, and that’s who Steph is. He’s the ultimate competitor. He loves the big moment. He was incredible tonight.”
While he has started every game, he understands that it won’t be his night every game, like it almost always is when he plays for Golden State.
Earlier in the week, Curry addressed the topic, telling reporters, “Everybody has to be ready for your moment whenever it is, and I think that’s a challenge because again, you don’t know from quarter to quarter, from game to game who it’s going to be. It’s a fun way to play if you’re bought into it.”
Curry was finally part of the fun – in a stressful environment. He made five of his first six shots, including four 3-pointers. Against any other team, it would’ve been the beginning of a blowout for the U.S. But Serbia was ready. It made shots, three-time MVP Nikola Jokic controlled the game with his scoring and passing and Kerr called Serbia’s performance “perfect.”
As relentless as Serbia was, the U.S. kept playing, possession after possession. It kept finding small answers until it solved the larger puzzle. Curry was a big part of that, going 12-for-19 from the field, including 9-for-14 on 3-pointers.
“It was,” LeBron James said, “Chef Curry.”
Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.