(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Team USA survived a major scare from Serbia in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics, holding on for a 95-91 victory after fighting back from a double-digit deficit to advance to the gold-medal game against France.
Kendrick Perkins recently named who he believes has been the “unsung hero” of Team USA so far, especially after playing such a critical role down the stretch in the win over Serbia.
“Devin Booker was in the game yesterday when it mattered the most, and he played his role to a T, sliding, getting over screens, holding his corners, spacing the floor, doing everything that he needed to do to be a star in his role to help the team win,” Perkins said on “First Take.”
.@KendrickPerkins says Devin Booker has been the unsung hero for Team USA pic.twitter.com/fq8skKTkUM
— First Take (@FirstTake) August 9, 2024
Booker was a bit overshadowed in the fourth quarter because he was sharing the floor with former NBA MVPs for most of the period, and he scored just six points in the game on 2-of-4 shooting, but his defense on Serbia’s guards was pivotal to the comeback.
Serbia was scorching in the first half and shot 10-for-19 from 3-point range before Team USA cranked up the defense after halftime to ignite the comeback.
Team USA’s balanced roster has allowed for new players to step up each game depending on the matchups, and against Serbia, it was Stephen Curry’s 36 points and Joel Embiid’s 19 points that helped lead them to victory after both had struggled mightily up to that point.
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