The U.S. men’s basketball team on Sunday lost in the Olympics for the first time since 2004, denting their quest for a fourth straight gold medal.
The defeat came courtesy of France, which got an Evan Fournier 3-pointer with just under a minute left to put the French ahead for good in an 83-76 victory.
Fournier scored 28 points for France. Jrue Holiday scored 18 points for the U.S., followed by Bam Adebayo with 12, Damian Lillard with 11 and Kevin Durant with 10.
Down 76-74 after Fournier’s go-ahead bucket, the U.S. missed five straight shots on the same possession. The last three were 3-point attempts punctuated by wide-open misses from Durant and Holiday.
The team didn’t make a basket in the last 4 1/2 minutes, ESPN reported.
The U.S. Olympic winning streak ended at 25 since the team last tasted defeat, against Argentina in Athens, where they had to settle for the bronze.
France boasts multiple NBA players but was still a double-digit underdog in the group play game.
Fans had feelings about the loss.
Calling all HuffPost superfans!
Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost’s next chapter
