Curry scored 36 points as Team USA fought back from being down 17 points, and by 14 late in the third quarter, to beat Serbia, 95-91.

James had a triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists Thursday, as the United States advanced to the gold medal game against France.

It took the efforts of the 36-year-old Curry and the 39-year-old James, who have eight NBA titles between them, to escape a historic upset. Serbia lit up Team USA for 33 first-quarter points, and only Curry’s 17 points in the quarter kept the game close.

That the USA had to mount such a huge comeback to survive is a sign of how much better the rest of the world has gotten in basketball, and how good Jokic has been.

But it also shows that without Curry, James and Kevin Durant, another dominant player from the previous decade who hit how own big shot late, Team USA might be far more beatable. Anthony Edwards struggled, and the over-30 crowd (including monster-screen-setter Joel Embiid) took over late.

But the Americans will still have their veterans for the gold medal game. The future of Team USA may be uncertain, but the old generation wants to go out with gold.