Tony Parker hit the game-winning jumper with 31 seconds left as France rallied past Serbia 76-75 in the Rio Olympics. Parker's jumper capped a game-ending 6-0 run for the French that saw them move to 2-1 in group play while Serbia falls to 1-2.
First half sees France race out to big early lead before Serbia rallies to close the gap
France jumped out to a lightning-quick 20-4 lead to start the game, a stunned Serbian squad rallying with a 13-6 run to close the gap to 26-17 at the end of the first quarter with top ranked tennis star Novak Djokovic looking in on his home nation.
Both teams clamped down defensively in the second quarter and France entered the halftime break ahead by only four 40-36 after being outscored 19-14 in the second 10 minutes.
Serbia leads throughout second half before De Colo, Parker bring France back
Serbia continued their momentum into the third quarter and they emerged from the period with a 60-57 lead, the big early deficit now fully erased.
The fourth quarter resembled the second quarter as both teams defenses once again took center stage and Serbia built a 75-70 lead. After such a strong start, it appeared Les Blues would slump to their second upset defeat of the tournament, having previously lost to Australia to open the Olympics, but Nando de Colo scored four straight points to pull the French within a point at 75-74 before Parker's heroics. Serbia had one final shot to win it, but Bojan Bogdanovic's shot from the corner was no good.
De Colo was the high man for France with 22 points while Boris Diaw had an excellent all-around game with 11 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Miroslav Raduljica led Serbia with 16 points.
Parker talks about his shot, the win and his Olympic experience
After the game, Parker offered his thoughts to the media: "It's awesome," Parker said. "It's not every day you hit almost a buzzer-beater, a game-winning shot against a great team. Serbia has an unbelievable team. It was a great win for us."
He also spoke about the Olympic village: "I love being in the village," he said. "It's part of the Olympic experience being with everybody and sharing experiences with all the other athletes and meeting everyone. That's what I like the most is meeting all the other athletes and enjoying ourselves. It's been a great experience".
The star point guard of the San Antonio Spurs feels his team are getting back on track: "We had a rough start and now I feel like we're back to our identity and we're playing a lot better," Parker said.
Next games
Both teams are back in action on Friday as France faces Venezuela while Serbia squares off with the United States.