Team USA win Olympic men's basketball gold, beating France 98-87
Baku, August 12, AZERTAC
Team USA won Olympic men's basketball gold Saturday with a 98-87 win against hosts France, according to Anadolu Agency.
Stephen Curry scored a team-high 24 points at Bercy Arena, while Lebron James posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists.
Devin Booker and Kevin Durant each added 15 points.
Despite Victor Wembanyama's 26 points and seven boards, to go along with Guerschon Yabusele's 20 points, the French national team could not avoid the loss.
Team USA have now won five straight gold medals -- 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024 -- and eight of the last nine Olympic tournaments, picking up their 17th overall gold.
Since 1992, when the Olympics first allowed professional players to participate, the US has claimed gold in all the Games except in 2004, when they settled for bronze after losing to Argentina, which managed to capture gold and its first Olympic medal in basketball after defeating Italy 84–69.
France brought home silver in Paris for a second-straight Olympics as they lost the Tokyo 2020 final to the US by 87-82.
Earlier, Serbia upset world champions Germany 93-83 to claim a third Olympic medal at the same venue in Paris.
After finishing second in Atlanta in 1996 and Rio 2016, the Serbian squad won bronze behind a triple-double from three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, who scored 19 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.
Franz Wagner was the high scorer for Germany with 18 points and nine boards.
Meanwhile, the US women's team defeated France 67-66 on Sunday, becoming the first basketball team in Olympic history to win eight consecutive gold medals.
A'ja Wilson was the highest scorer of the game with 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Kahleah Copper and Kelsey Plum played with 12 points for the US at Bercy Arena.
Gabby Williams produced 19 points, with seven rebounds, and Marine Johannes and Valeriane Ayayi finished with nine points for France.
USA collected their 10th gold medal and eighth in a row, with Diana Taurasi, who didn't appear in the final, claiming a sixth gold medal — a record for an athlete at the Games in any team sport.
Silver went to France, which finished on the podium for a second consecutive Games, following the bronze they won in Tokyo in 2020.
In the third-place game, Australia beat Belgium 85-81 to secure the bronze medal at Bercy Arena.
The Belgium women's basketball team has achieved their highest finish in their second appearance at the Olympics.
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