Durant and U.S. men extend dominance in Olympic basketball
Posted August 7, 2021 7:50 am.
TOKYO (AP) — The American reign over Olympic men’s basketball lives on, even though the Tokyo Games took some work to win.
Kevin Durant scored 29 points and joined Carmelo Anthony as the only three-time men’s gold medalists in Olympic history as the U.S. held off France 87-82 on Saturday to win the gold medal for the 16th time in 19 tries.
The Americans had started their tournament with a loss to France, then ran off five consecutive victories.
“Everybody was questioning us,” U.S. forward Draymond Green. “This is special.”
It certainly was for Durant, who carried the team through so many victories for his record-tying third Olympic gold medal, and coach Gregg Popovich, who adds the gold to five NBA titles he’s won with the San Antonio Spurs.
“This one feels good because we went through a lot. We had a lot of first-time guys on the team, new experience for everyone on the team, COVID, the kind of bubble we were in, no fans, no one expecting us to lose,” Durant said.
“We heard it all over the past few weeks about our team. To fight through this adversity against a great team like these guys … to come together so fast _ it was beautiful to see, it was beautiful to be a part of,” he said.
Popovich called coaching in the Olympics “the most responsibility I’ve ever felt.”
“You’re playing for so many people that are watching, and for a country, and other countries involved. The responsibility was awesome,” Popovich said.
The gold medal wasn’t secure until Durant made two free throws with 8.8 seconds left.
“I think when we look back at the competition we’ll be proud of ourselves,” said France’s Even Fournier. “We weren’t far off … We’re getting better.”
