US basketball superstars survive Serbian scare
The United States kept the dream alive with a stirring fourth quarter rally to tame feisty Serbia 95-91 and move into the Paris Olympics men's basketball gold medal final against France. Trailing by double digits for much of the game and down 76-63 heading into the fourth quarter, the United States chances of a fifth consecutive gold were quickly dimming.  Then NBA stars LeBron James and Stephen Curry took charge, bringing a wide-eyed capacity crowd at the Bercy Arena to their feet with a furious fight back. Curry made nine three-pointers on his way to lead all scorers with 36 points, while James finished with a triple double of 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. A turning point of the game came with more than seven minutes left in the final period, when Serbia's star center Nikola Jokic committed a foul on Anthony Davis when American forward Kevin Durant made a three pointer. The foul meant the US maintained possession of the ball, and Devin Booker hit another triple on the ensuing possession to cut the deficit to five. Curry made a three pointer for an 87-86 lead with around two minutes to go for the Americans' first lead since the first quarter, as they hung on for the victory. The US win delivered the final basketball fans wanted to see and is sure to be one of the Paris Olympics highlights, as the Americans take on an inspired France on Saturday, in what will be a hostile Bercy cauldron. Bolstered by an electric home crowd, a turbo-charged France won a 73-69 thriller over Germany. France was led by a 17-point effort from Guerschon Yabusele while Isaia Cordinier chipped in 16, none more important than two free throws with seven seconds to play to blunt a Germany fight back and seal victory. "I think the national team, this jersey brings to us that different energy that we can't find nowhere else," said Victor Wembanyama, the first Frenchman to be taken number one overall in the NBA draft. "We can see how intense we've been over the last two games. It's something that we all feel as patriots. We love our jersey. We love our country." (Agencies)