With France putting a small dent in the United States lead late in the fourth quarter of the men’s basketball gold-medal game, Curry unleashed a flurry of 3-pointers that left France flustered and delivered the U.S. its fifth consecutive gold medal.
Curry scored a team-high 24 points – all coming on 3-pointers – and four of those 3s came in the game’s final 2:47, each one bigger and more important than the previous one.
The coup de grace came with 35 seconds remaining. Hounded by France’s Nicolas Batum and Evan Fournier, Curry launched a deep, high-arching 3-pointer that put the U.S. ahead 96-87.
Curry ran down the court with his hands to head in his trademark “good night” gesture. It was over.
The degree of difficulty, time and score and the stakes made the shot part of Curry's career highlights package.
Said U.S. coach Steve Kerr: “He put on that show down the stretch in the last few minutes and it was pretty amazing to watch.”
"The first four games I had decent looks. They weren't falling, but they were in rhythm of the offense," Curry said.
He reminded me at one point early that the game's going to come if you allow it, and even I was missing shots, just stay engaged, and that fed into being locked in for these last two games because the game called for me to get shots up and knock them down."