Kevin Durant led Team USA past France, 87-82, on Friday with 29 points as the Americans secured their fourth straight gold medal.
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The gap between international and American basketball might be closing, but the gap between Kevin Durant and every other scorer in the world right now is as big as ever. Durant is arguably the greatest Olympic player in United States history, led Team USA past France, 87-82, on Friday with 29 points as the Americans secured their fourth straight gold medal.
Kevin Durant in Olympic gold medal games:
2012 London — 30 points
2016 Rio — 30 points
2020 Tokyo — 29 pointsBest player in the world. pic.twitter.com/UTyhKl7h1b
— StatMuse (@statmuse) August 7, 2021
However, Team U.S.A started slowly. It couldn’t hit any 3s in the early stages, and France looked comfortable getting buckets. But Durant didn’t mess around for long. He started cooking when Team USA couldn’t find a bucket elsewhere. Through three quarters, he couldn’t be stopped. By the time France started isolating him out in the fourth, it was a little too late.
COUNT ‘EM ???
Third-straight Olympic gold for Kevin Durant and fourth-straight for Team USA! ?? pic.twitter.com/kKnFx2MJ28
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) August 7, 2021
But Jrue Holiday’s name shouldn’t be far behind.
This is not a feat you see often, an NBA title and gold medal in the same year. Holiday was the second-most valuable player over the course of both runs. After flipping the NBA Finals with his defense, Holiday put on another defensive clinic for the ages in these Games.
Holiday was also huge offensively for Team USA. He finished with 11 points and five rebounds on 5 of 13 shooting, which looks like a fairly average. But Holiday’s physical aggression was almost as evident as his defense throughout this tournament. He set a tone and did not hesitate to fire from the three-point land. He made three important steals in 30 minutes. Durant was the only other U.S. player to go over 30 minutes.
France made this a game by going huge, with twin seven-footers Rudy Gobert and Moustapha Fall. Gobert, who would love to be as prioritized in the Utah Jazz’s offense as he is for the French national team, finished with 16 points on a perfect 5 for 5 shooting. He dug deep and rolled hard and was given the green light to back his way under the basket until the U.S. was forced to foul him.
And that’s when the trouble began. Gobert finished just 6 for 13 from the free-throw line. Gobert had a legit chance to lead France to a gold medal had he been able to have a great night at the free-throw line.
But in the end, the U.S. was just the superior team, both at the top end and from a depth standpoint. In most ways, it felt like France was lucky to be in this game, down just five at halftime and eight heading into the fourth quarter after the U.S. was threatening to run away to close both the second and third quarters.
