PARIS: LeBron James and the United States look to continue their relentless march toward a fifth straight Olympic basketball gold on Thursday, taking on Nikola Jokic’s Serbia for a place in the final. The United States improved to 4-0 at the Paris Games with a blowout quarter-final victory over Brazil, while three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic and Serbia had to fight tooth and nail to erase a 24-point deficit on the way to a narrow overtime win over Australia.

The Americans have the added confidence of two recent wins over Serbia, in a pre-Games friendly and in group stage play, but coach Steve Kerr cautioned they could not afford to relax. “Serbia is really good,” Kerr said. “We can’t get lulled to sleep because we beat them twice.

“We have to be prepared for their best effort. We’ve got to think about, what are they going to do differently,” Kerr added. “Every game is so different and unique. You never know when the ball’s going in, when it’s not going in. We have to be prepared.”

Despite the Americans’ triumphant progress so far, James insisted that any team still standing — France will face Germany in the other semi-final — is a threat. “Everybody, everybody, everybody,” James said when asked to name the most dangerous team remaining.

James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, leads a US Olympic team more stacked with star-power than any since Michael Jordan’s 1992 Dream Team. James, a four-time NBA champion, is looking for a third Olympic gold while Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant is chasing a fourth. Golden State Warriors talisman Stephen Curry is playing in his first Olympics, looking for a gold to add to his four NBA crowns.

Every game its own test

All echo Kerr in saying their back-to-back wins over the Serbs are immaterial. “Every game is its own test,” said James, who insisted he was fine after taking an inadvertent elbow near his left eye and leaving the game against Brazil. “It don’t matter what happened in the first two, it’s about what goes down Thursday night.” Curry was encouraged by the dominant performance in the win-or-go-home game against Brazil, in which the United States seized control early.

“The first unit got off to a better start which we haven’t seen all tournament,” he said. “We feel the energy of single elimination. It brings the best out of you.” That was certainly the case for France, who had to eke out an overtime win over Japan and were comprehensively beaten by Germany in group play.

They looked like another team as they booked a semi-final rematch with reigning World Cup champions Germany with an 82-73 victory over previously unbeaten Canada. “That’s the beauty of single-elimination tournament basketball,” Curry said. “Any given night, you never know what can happen.

“It reminds you how hard it is to win a gold medal.” France’s Evan Fournier, whose outspoken criticism of the team’s game plan in the group stage loss to Germany had sparked the ire of coach Vincent Collet, indicated the dust-up had been worth it, since changes for the Canada game had made the difference. — AFP

“Tonight, we started playing the way we were supposed to play,” Fournier said after the French led wire-to-wire despite a poor shooting night from star Victor Wembanyama. Meanwhile, Alanna Smith scored 22 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead Australia to a convincing 85-67 victory over Serbia and into the Olympic women’s basketball semi-finals on Wednesday.

The Aussies, silver medallists in 2000, 2004 and 2008, are into the semi-finals for the first time since 2012, when they earned bronze. They will face either the United States or Nigeria on Friday for a place in the final. The United States are chasing an unprecedented eighth straight Olympic title — which would break a tie with the US men’s basketball team for the most consecutive gold medals set from 1936-68. Meanwhile Nigeria have already made history in Paris by becoming the first African country to reach the knock-out rounds.

USA coach Cheryl Reeve said depth of talent is the foundation of the US dynasty. That depth allowed Reeve to make wholesale substitutions to turn things around after a slow start offensively in their group win against Germany.

“The athleticism and the skill level they can bring in off the bench, I mean you’re bringing Brittney Griner off the bench,” German coach Lisa Thomaidis said. “I mean that’s just, that’s just another level.

“So yeah I mean they’re the best team in the world for a reason.” Germany, in the quarter-finals in their Olympic debut, will face France for a place in the semis, the winner advancing to play either Spain or Belgium. A day after Serbia rallied to see off Australia’s Boomers in the men’s quarter-finals, the Opals turned the tables in convincing fashion, building on the momentum of two straight group wins after a stuttering start to the competition.

Australia connected on 58 percent of their shots in the first half, out-scoring Serbia 22-11 in the second quarter to take control for good. Smith added four assists, two steals and two blocks and Jade Melbourne and Cayla George scored 18 points apiece for Australia, who led 48-32 at halftime. — AFP