Nikola Jokic leads Serbia to Olympic basketball bronze medal with win over Germany

PARIS -- When it was all over, Bogdan Bogdanovic pumped his fist and leaped high as his teammates celebrated at midcourt and Serbian flags waved wildly in the Bercy Arena stands.

Less than 40 hours after enduring one of the most gut-wrenching losses in its history, Serbia had found its way back to the the Olympic medal podium.

Nikola Jokic produced the fifth triple-double in Olympic history and Serbia beat Germany 93-83 on Saturday to win the men’s basketball bronze medal at the Paris Games.

Jokic finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists as Serbia claimed its first medal in the sport since winning silver in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro. The Serbians bounced back to beat the world champions after nearly upsetting the four-time defending gold medalist U.S. team in the semifinals.

“This bronze shines like gold for us,” said Vasilije Micic, who added 19 points.

Jokic joined Sasha Belov of the former Soviet Union, U.S. star LeBron James (twice) and Slovenia's Luka Doncic as the only players with Olympic triple-doubles.

Bogdanovic, who finished with 16 points, credited 74-year-old Serbia coach Svetislav Pesic with helping the team turn the page after absorbing the disappointment of the U.S. loss.

“He gave us a great speech even after that game,” Bogdanovic said. “He kept the spirit in the team. ... Even though we lost, we had the same mindset. It was difficult to sleep. We didn't sleep that day or night at all. But the next day he was ready with a meeting. The same meeting we did the whole year. We play together, we win together, we lose together.”

Saturday's game was a rematch of last year’s FIBA World Cup final, but with a different outcome. Serbia led throughout in this one, building as much as a 19-point lead in the third quarter.

Franz Wagner had 19 points to lead Germany, and Mortiz Wagner added 16.

“We're still one of the best teams in the world. That’s what I believe," Germany captain Dennis Schroder said. "But basketball sometimes doesn't go your way, and sports in general doesn't go your way.”

Germany coach Gordon Herbert, who will leave the national team after the Olympics after signing a deal to become the coach of EuroLeague's FC Bayern Munich, was proud of this team's run.

"Not the end that we wanted, but these guys have heart and soul for three years," Herbert said.

The World Cup victory was part a 12-game win streak in major international competition for the Germans, who won their first four games in Paris to reach the semifinals. But they lost their last two, also falling to host France in the semifinals on Thursday.

Germany made a push late in the fourth quarter, whittling Serbia’s lead to 82-74 on a layup by Wagner. Serbia responded with an 11-4 run to push it back above double digits.

Serbia led 46-38 at halftime, getting a fast start from Jokic with 10 points, six assists and five rebounds.

Germany got nine first-half points from Franz Wagner and Schroder but shot just 33% from the field (10 of 33) and turned it over seven times.

Serbia shot 52% (16 of 31) and dominated inside, outscoring their rivals 20-6 in the paint.

Bogdanovic said Serbia wasn't concerned about repeating history from last year's World Cup.

“We had more confidence. We know what Nikola is bringing to the table for us,” Bogdanovic said. “We continued to play team basketball. We continued to play our way. And we are unafraid. Our mindset, our mentality, we had a great tournament and we wanted to close it out with a win."

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games