Stephen Curry’s four-pointers secure another gold medal in basketball for the USA

PARIS (AP) — Stephen Curry had just five 3-pointers in his first 4 games of the Paris Olympics. The shot just wasn’t going in.

And then got here the medal round.

All-time 3-point shooting leader in NBA history he found his stroke in the final moments for the Americans, hitting 17 3-pointers in his last two games against Serbia and France to assist the U.S. win its fifth consecutive gold medal with a 98-87 victory.

The last 4 of those 3-pointers got here in the final 2 minutes, 46 seconds of the gold-medal game — a shocking display that anyone who watched it’s going to be hard to forget.

“It’s just a lot of faith, living and dying with the shots you think you’re supposed to make,” Curry said. “The last 2 1/2 minutes were special. Guys were pumping me up. We had confidence in what we were trying to do. And I was just really in the moment, enjoying it.”

Analysis of Curry’s dramatic moves to secure US gold:

First

LeBron James — now a three-time gold medalist and, at 39, the MVP of this Olympic tournament — moved the ball across the middle of the court, and Curry dismissed Anthony Davis to create space for an incoming pick-and-roll. Curry set the ball, then went to the top of the three-second zone to catch a pass from James.

Curry broke free from the care of French defender Guerschon Yabusele and immediately converted a three-point shot.

No one knew he was just starting out.

— USA 85, France 79, 2:41 remaining.

Second

In a timeout with 2:22 left, Curry suggested he and James proceed the pick-and-roll and have everyone else unfolded on the floor. An easy set, but highly effective for someone widely considered the best shooter in basketball history. So they ran it, this time with James setting a screen.

“I said, ‘OK, let’s do this because I’ve seen this before,’” said U.S. coach Steve Kerr, who also coaches Curry on the Golden State Warriors. “And it usually works out well.”

Curry kept the ball, outplayed defender Nicolas Batum, waited for him to land and fired a shot from the left side of the penalty area.

Curry shouted a message as he walked back down. “Don’t worry about me,” he repeated.

There was nobody there at that moment.

— USA 90, France 81, 1:52 remaining.

Third

Batum had just hit a 3-pointer to chop the result in six. Curry drove the ball down the court and passed it to Kevin Durant, who immediately passed it back. Curry passed the ball back to himself, and it ended up in the hands of Devin Booker.

As Booker reached the end zone, he saw Curry again had an open position at the top of the three-second box.

He ended up using mainly the same move as before; this time he waited for Nando de Colo to bite his head. Another 3-pointer, good.

“He’s the greatest shooter that ever lived,” Booker said.

Curry later screamed several times before lifting the top of his shirt, revealing the word “USA” across his chest.

— USA 93, France 84, 1:18 remaining.

Fourth

Victor Wembanyama hit a 3-pointer, the last of a 26-point run, to place France up 93-87 with 54.4 seconds left. The Americans went back to Curry, as everyone knew.

He passed the ball to Durant, similar to he did on the previous possession. And Durant passed it back.

Curry got the hint. This time he held the ball. He forced a shot over Batum and Evan Fournier, a rather off-balanced shot that looked like a mistake.

“I was like, ‘What the hell,’” U.S. center Bam Adebayo said. “Then I remembered who was filming it.”

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Of course it was. The U.S. was leading 96-87 with 35 seconds left. The French swimming star of those Paris games, four-time gold medalist Léon Marchand, could only smile from his seat courtside.

Curry put his hands on the sides of his head in celebration. “Night night,” he says, referring to when he tells the other team it’s time for bed. In French, it’s translated as “nuit nuit.”

The game was over. The Americans would wear the gold again. Curry had watched Durant win gold at the previous three Olympics. He had watched Simone Biles win gold in the women’s all-around gymnastics event in the same arena earlier in the Paris Games. He had desperately craved this moment.

And with 4 unforgettable shots he lived as much as expectations.

“This may never happen again,” Curry said. “It was very, very special.”