RIO DE JANEIRO - Four-time NBA champion Tony Parker hit the game-winning jumper with 31 seconds remaining Wednesday to give France a 76-75 victory over stubborn Serbia at the Rio Olympics.
France's point guard Tony Parker (L) goes to the basket next to Serbia's power forward Nikola Jokic, on August 10, 2016 during the Rio Games
Parker, a 34-year-old guard for the San Antonio Spurs, capped a game-ending 10-2 run by the French, which also featured four points each by Boris Diaw and Nando de Colo.
"It's awesome," Parker said. "It's not everyday you hit a game-winning shot. It was great."
The victory leaves France, which dropped the Rio opener to Australia, 2-1 in Group A preliminary round play with Serbia falling to 1-2.
"We had a rough start," Parker said. "Now I feel we're back to our identity and we're playing a lot better."
The victory means France, which has yet to face China or the Americans, is likely to finish third in the table and face a possible semi-final against the US team of NBA stars, a situation that makes many wonder if a loss and likely avoiding the US in the playoffs until the final might not be better.
France coach Vincent Collet agreed it might seem like a triumph of "ethics over realism" but added, "Before the semi-finals there are some other games to win.
"These games will be do-or-die. You have to give 100 percent all the time. Tony understands this very well with the buzzer beater and the other plays he made.
"I think we have a chance to reach the top four. What I think more and more is our team is back with the spirit."
Serbia coach Sasha Djordjevic started an unusual lineup and fell behind 20-4
"Lack of concentration by some of our young players is unacceptable," he said. "They heard the bad words from me in the locker room. I'm really not glad about it.
"I hope we're still not in business class flying to Rio."
"I wanted to shuffle the cards a little, he said. "I want to keep the minutes in a good way for the future of the competition."
Djordjevic dismissed any notion of tanking to avoid the Americans, saying starter changes were to reduce minutes for the regulars to help later in the event.
"Both teams showed we wanted to win. Maybe we didn't show it in the first quarter," said Djordjevic. "It's about competition. It's about pride. Trust me, my guys are not happy at all. We're not qualified for anything."
De Colo led France with 22 points while Diaw and Nicolas Batum each had 11 points. Diaw also contributed nine rebounds and nine assists.
Miroslav Raduljica scored 16 points to lead Serbia, which took the lead in a 12-1 third quarter-run and kept it until the final basket.