The United States men’s basketball team was nearly upset by Nikola Jokic and Serbia on Thursday afternoon, but a late run resulted in a 95-91 victory for the Americans.
Serbia led by as many as 17, but couldn't hold on as strong performances from Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Joel Embiid helped fuel the comeback.
Curry got off to a strong start with 17 points in the first quarter and ultimately finished with 36 points on 12-of-19 shooting, including nine 3s.
Steph Curry's 36 points is the most by any USA Men's or Women's player in a knockout round game pic.twitter.com/GngNPxCHSx
— Evan Abrams (@EvanHAbrams) August 8, 2024
Many expected the U.S. to win, but this game was much closer than anticipated. The U.S. was roughly a -1500 moneyline favorite vs. Serbia. A $1,500 wager was necessary to net a profit of $100.
Meanwhile, a $100 wager on Serbia would have netted somewhere in the ballpark of $950 if they held on to their 17-point lead.
On the spread, the U.S. was -15.5, meaning the market favored the U.S. to win by 15.5 points, on average.
The U.S. was roughly -650 to win gold heading into the semifinals match and will be favored again in the gold-medal game vs. France — albeit by a far less degree on account of this poor performance.
