Paris 2024 Olympics - Basketball - Men's Bronze Medal Game - Germany vs Serbia - Bercy Arena, Paris, France - August 10, 2024. Marko Guduric of Serbia and Filip Petrusev of Serbia celebrate the team's win REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
PARIS (Reuters) - Serbia cruised to men's basketball bronze by defeating Germany 93-83 at the Paris Olympics on Saturday after they missed out on a chance for gold by losing by four points to a high-octane U.S. team in the final minutes of their semi-final.
Led by three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, Serbia dominated early, leading Germany by nine points after the first quarter. Although Germany narrowed that gap in the second quarter, even outscoring Serbia 17 to 16, they were unable to quash Serbia's fire power in the second half.
Serbia continued to keep Germany at bay in the third and fourth quarters, with Jokic and his teammate Vasilije Micic finishing the game with 19 points each.
The United States will be seeking their fifth straight Olympic title against France at Bercy Arena in Paris in the gold medal match later on Saturday.
(Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
