The United States won their fourth straight Olympic gold medal in basketball as the US defeated France 87 – 82 in the finals behind 29 points and 6 rebounds from Brooklyn Nets star swingman Kevin Durant, and 19 points and 7 rebounds from Boston Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum off the bench.
Former Celtics shooting guard Evan Fournier put up 16 points, and ex-Boston big man Guerschon Yabusele added 13 points and 4 boards. The win gave USA the rare opportunity to make for an Olympic loss in the same Olympiad, with the US having fallen to France in its opening game of group play.
And while Tatum’s play might not have been the most eye-popping on the team, the Celtics star put his stamp on the medal, providing critical scoring and helping to close out games on a consistent basis.
The #Tokyo2020 Olympic Champions
pic.twitter.com/ueRXQnKQFB
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 7, 2021
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The St. Louis native has a bright future with Team USA should he continue playing for the U.S. national team — and Team USA’s is brighter in turn with a player like Tatum in the folds.
This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!
Leave a Reply