Ja Morant and Paige Bueckers look to Steph Curry's magic as Team USA on the brink of humiliation
Steph Curry got off to a hot start in Team USA's semifinal clash with Serbia on Thursday. In response, NBA star Ja Morant and NCAA star Paige Bueckers took to social media on Thursday to react to his play as Team USA went down early on the scoreboard.
While Team USA entered into the 2024 Paris Olympics as the overwhelming favorite to win the gold medal, the team went down early against Serbia. Despite that, Steph Curry was absolutely dominant throughout the first half, at one point scoring 20 of Team USA's 40 points.
In response, Ja Morant and Paige Bueckers took to social media to weigh in, with Bueckers suggesting that Thursday's clash could wind up being known as 'The Steph Curry game'.
Curry, who is playing with Team USA in the Olympics for the first time, seemed to sense the gravity of the moment and repeatedly rose to the occasion for Team USA. Given his age, the expectation is that this will be Curry's last chance to win Olympic gold given that he will be 40 years old at the time of the 2028 Olympics.
While he got off to a slow start in Paris this summer as he navigated the pacing and the space of FIBA games, it was his play that kept Team USA in Thursday's semifinal game.
Looking at Steph Curry's play leading up to and throughout the 2024 Paris Olympics
Early on in the Olympics, Steph Curry started out the Group Phase with an 11-point outing against Serbia, where he shot 50% from the floor. The following game, however, when Team USA faced off against South Sudan in a highly-anticipated rematch following a closely-contested international friendly, Curry struggled.
The four-time NBA champion scored just three points while shooting 1-9 from the field, and 0-6 from downtown. In addition, he tallied just one rebound and four assists in the game despite a Team USA win.
In the final game of the Group Phase, Curry again struggled with his efficiency, scoring eight points while shooting 3-8 from the floor and dishing out just one assist over 18 minutes of play.
After Team USA advanced to the Knockout Round, Curry wound up having an efficient night from the field as he scored seven points on 2-3 from the field to help Team USA advance to the semifinals.
Against Serbia, Curry had the performance of a lifetime, scoring 36 points on 12-19 from the field while contributing eight rebounds and two assists to the team's total. At various points throughout the game, Curry came up clutch for Team USA with big threes en route to a thrilling 95-91 win.
Steph Curry and Team USA will now face France in the gold medal match on Aug. 10.