Team USA’s men’s basketball defeats France to win fourth consecutive gold at Tokyo Olympics

SAITAMA, Japan – Kevin Durant has had some wonderful days in his career, but it’s never been like this green and gold Saturday in Japan.

First there was a new $ 198 million contract with the Brooklyn Nets. Then the pride of Seat Pleasant, Md. Extended his legendary status as one of America’s great Olympians with a masterpiece performance to lead the U.S. team to their fourth straight gold medal, 87 -82 against France.

Durant’s greatness developed throughout the Tokyo games, and he deployed his early energy to relieve the stress of his teammates. With the confidence, the experience and the huge mix of skills, there was no way Durant would lose as he scored 21 of his 29 points in the first half.

This was Durant’s third time in a gold medal game and the third time he was fantastic, only deepening his resume.

France, who had beaten the United States team both in the 2019 World Cup and two weeks ago to open the Olympics with dominant fourth quarterbacks, tried again with a late kick. Led by 10 points at the start of the last quarter, they brought it down to three points on two occasions, including with only 10 seconds to play.

With Durant tiring, there was a window where it could have been another bad ending. But this team, which sometimes lacked chemistry but never depth, had enough to finish the job.

Jayson Tatum, who became Team USA’s secondary scorer in a bench role during the tournament, offered a handful of relief hoops, including two crucial 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as the most important of his 19 points. Damian Lillard, who struggled to make an impact in Tokyo, also delivered two clutch baskets to help keep the lead.

Then it was Durant, as it should be, ending the game with free throws with eight seconds remaining.

With a big size advantage, France tried to kick the ball inside with big man Rudy Gobert. The Americans are committed to changing pick and roll like they have done every tournament and the French really tried to make it a fatal flaw. Gobert shot nine fouls in the game total, but the United States played the percentages as the shaky free-throw shooter finished just 6 of 13 from the line.

Evan Fournier, who has been a thorn in the side of the Americans in the last two losses, scored 16 points but was only 5 of 15 from the line. Jrue Holiday had another great defensive game, with three interceptions and one block with 11 points. Big men Bam Adebayo and Draymond Green also played superior defense.