Jokic's triple-double leads Serbia to Olympic basketball bronze medal with win over Germany

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