USA basketball claims fifth straight Olympic gold medal with 98-87 win against France

Team USA has won a gold medal yet again as it staved off a late comeback effort from France on Saturday win earn a 98-87 victory. It is the fifth straight gold medal for the United States, which has dominated basketball on the international level over the past nearly three decades.

Stephen Curry came up in the clutch when his team needed him most, hitting several key 3-pointers down the stretch to pull away. He finished the game 8-of-13 from long range to lead the U.S. with 24 points as he earned his first gold medal. That included a dagger with 1:53 to go to make it a nine-point advantage.

After trailing 49-41 at halftime, France chipped away slightly at the lead to make it 72-66 entering the fourth quarter. Guershon Yabusele and Victor Wembanyama were the two main factors for the French in helping them stay in the game.

Things got off to a tightly contested start as the teams traded buckets early. The USA ended the opening quarter with a small 20-15 lead as LeBron James and Devin Booker led the effort for the Americans in the first 10 minutes.

They continued to build their lead in the second half, but France remained within striking distance at halftime as it trailed 49-41. Booker led the U.S. with 13 points at the break while Yabusele had 15 for the French, including a dunk over James.

France was very cold from outside in the first half, connecting on just 3 of 16 shots (18.8%) from beyond-the-arc. USA drilled 9 of 20 shots (45.0%) from downtown in the first half. France had 26 points in the paint in the first half and USA had 20 points in the paint.

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