Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry dazzled with 36 points and NBA all-time scoring leader LeBron James had a triple-double of 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
But it took a huge effort in the fourth quarter to finally put down the Serbs, who led most of the night and took a 76-63 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Kevin Durant and Devin Booker drilled back-to-back three pointers to start the contest.
Joel Embiid pulled the States within four with a 3-point play and James tied it at 84-84 with 3:41 to play.
Curry knocked in a three-pointer with 2:24 left to give the United States its first lead since the first quarter, 87-87.
James followed with an easy drive, Curry grabbed a steal and drove for a basket that pushed the USA lead to five and the Americans held on.
Embiid scored 19 points and Durant woke up from a sleepy first half just in time to add nine as the U.S. kept its quest for a 17th Olympic title alive.
Three-time NBA MVP Jokic finished with 17 points and 11 assists for Serbia, which got 20 points from the great Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Curry got off to a hot start, making five 3-pointers en route to 17 points in the first quarter.
But Serbia combined for five 3-pointers of its own to take a 31-23 lead after a frantic first quarter in which only four players scored for the United States.
Serbia went on to extend their lead to 42-25 with more than six minutes left in the second period.
The offensively struggling United States also failed to slow down the Serbian offense that Jokic had put in place.
Aleksa Avramovic was a deadly four-of-six from 3-point range en route to 15 first-half points, and Atlanta Hawks shooting guard Bogdanovic had 12 before the break.
Curry had 20 points in the first half, but humbled Phoenix Suns star Durant missed his only attempt.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Curry and Jrue Holiday cut the deficit to 59-65, but try as they might, the USA couldn’t pull Serbia away.
Marko Guduric converted a four-point play when he was fouled by Derrick White with a bomb far beyond the arc to propel Serbia into the fourth quarter on a roll.
But the American team, considered the most talented since Michael Jordan led the Dream Team in 1992, found a way.
USA rally to beat Serbia, reach Olympic men’s basketball final
