'Durant's Revival' USA Wins Fourth Consecutive Olympic Men's Basketball Gold

29 Points and 6 Rebounds Leading Offense... Jason Tatum Scores 19 Points and 7 Rebounds
France Suffers Third Defeat to USA in Olympic Final... Gobert Scores 16 Points

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

There was no upset. The United States achieved its fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal in men's basketball. On the 7th, at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan, they defeated France 87-82 in the men's basketball final of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Avenging their group stage loss (76-83), they added another gold medal to the streak they have maintained since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Men's basketball was officially adopted as an event at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. With this victory, the United States has won sixteen times out of twenty tournaments.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

The start was not good. On the 25th of last month, they lost to France, experiencing their first Olympic defeat in 17 years. However, they went on a winning streak afterward and subdued even France's momentum on this day. At the center of the comeback was superstar Kevin Durant (Brooklyn). Although he struggled with 10 points and 2 rebounds in the first game, he recovered his condition and established himself as the offensive leader. On this day, he led the team with 29 points and 6 rebounds. Jason Tatum (Boston) contributed 19 points and 7 rebounds, while Damian Lillard (Portland) and Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee) each scored 11 points.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

France fought hard with Rudy Gobert (Utah) and Evan Fournier (Boston) each scoring 16 points, but once again could not overcome the wall of the United States. France had also reached the finals in the 1948 London Olympics and the 2000 Sydney Olympics but lost to the United States both times. The players seemed to escape the nightmare early in the 3rd quarter, closing the gap to 42-44. However, they allowed consecutive scores from Bam Adebayo (Miami), Lillard, and Durant, ending the 3rd quarter at 63-71. France did not give up. In the middle of the 4th quarter, helped by Frank Ntilikina's (New York) outside shots, they narrowed the score difference, and with 10 seconds left, Nando de Colo (Fenerbahce) made two free throws to bring it to 82-85. However, in the following defense, Durant made both free throws, preventing the game from being overturned.

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