The Dream Team is still from another planet: Fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal for the United States | Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Basketball – Paris 2024 Olympic Games – END – day 1

France

USA

A great France crowned the Dream Team in Paris. The war of the worlds was won by the United States. The differences have narrowed, sometimes the two planets almost touch, but the pulse is still NBA Men's Rule, unstoppable when they take out the ammunition for a walk. Curry (24 points), Durant (15) and LeBron (14) constitute a wall too high for any mortal, whatever the resistance put up by Wembanyama (26) and Yabusele (20), stilettos of a great France. Fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal for the USA and fourth final of the Games lost by France, all against the same bone.

A dunk by Buffalo LeBron and a triple by Wembanyama opened the game as if it were an All Star, full of plays that filled the eyes: a dunk by the King on Yabusele, another outside bingo by Durant, the ribbon by Wemby and the crushing. ring.. It seemed like a summary of the best moments of the game and not even five minutes had passed. The spectator could not blink. The semi-final against Serbia (bronze against Germany) had served as a warning to the Dream Team, plugged in from the start on a hostile field. The train wreck against an inflamed France gave rise to a balanced start (15-20). The United States bit in defense and France was the same team transformed from Lille to Paris and which eliminated Canada and Germany until they got used to the empire.

The Dream Team's artillery was the same as usual. But the team built from behind, an overflowing physical exuberance to fly and run. France also pressed without the ball, and after the United States made several errors on the triple, strangely out of the perimeter, Vincent Collett's team showed the lead (25-24). His colleague Steve Kerr ordered the stop and LeBron returned from the warrior break. And of course, when James is on the court, the story is usually different. The star bounces in his own end, sweeps from coast to coast, penetrates like a missile, wins the basket and the foul in his favor, and shakes his shoulders and chest as if he were the lord of the jungle. It is.

France responded with Yabusele's reverse dance, Lessort's fervor and some forays from De Colo. Durant sharpened his wrist in the outside zone and Yabusele left one of the images of the night: he received from the outside and attacked the rim with fury to rise above LeBron and take the shot and the miss. “MVP!”, the fans shouted to the Madrid forward, who ended the first half with another inside raid between James and Anthony Davis (41-49). The two towers looked at each other before the interruption of a beautiful final. Pau Gasol, Carmelo Anthony, Scottie Pippen did not miss a single detail in the front row…

Kudos to Embiid when he stood on the free throw line (you know, that summer of love with France but the marriage with the United States). In the box, there was a great fight with Yabusele and Wembanyama, a man from the Euroleague and another from the NBA who sold their skin dearly. The Madrid player was a martyr for LeBron and company because he appeared everywhere. Without touching on big accelerations, the constant speed at which the Dream Team evolved allowed them to take bites on the scoreboard (47-61).

LeBron scored a goal and Wembanyama raised his endless arms towards the roof of the Bercy Arena demanding more decibels after a triple from the unicorn. And another from Fournier. France returns to the fray. He had started (59-65). The French team had returned to the match at the moment when it seemed to be able to say goodbye. He did not want to die with dignity, but rather die with his boots. The defensive errors of the United States ended up giving a new opportunity to the locals, driven by Fournier (66-72 at the end of the third quarter).

France demanded the best Dream Team as Serbia had demanded, a symptom of European strength in the basketball universe. Nothing that the United States has not already tried in its meat. And that it has not experienced these last minutes of the Olympic final, where the rivals burned their ships (79-82) to the cry of Allez la France. Both teams rushed, victims of the fatigue of the duel and the tournament. Yabusele flew, Wemby crushed, but in this confrontation, the United States always has something more, a sixth gear. For example, four stratospheric three-pointers by Curry in the last two minutes. The Dream Team brand, the golden brand.

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