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LeBron James needed four stitches after getting hit with an inadvertent elbow to his eye during the third quarter of Team USA men’s basketball’s 122-87 win over Brazil in the quarterfinals of the Summer Olympics in Paris on Tuesday.
United States head coach Steve Kerr relayed the news to reporters following the game.
James also relayed that he is fine.
James left the court for the locker room to get stitched up and returned to the sidelines by the end of the fourth quarter. However, he did not return to the game. Team USA had the win well in-hand by that point, though, leading 63-36 at halftime and 94-71 going into the fourth.
James played only 17 minutes but still finished with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, nine assists, three steals and three rebounds. It was another great win for Team USA, which is now 4-0 in the Olympics after outscoring its opponents by an average of 24.75 points.
Up next is a rematch with Serbia, which fell 110-84 to the United States in group play. Serbia, which is led by two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić, advanced to the semifinals after overcoming a 24-point deficit in a 95-90 win over Australia.
Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. ET on Thursday. France and Germany play in the other semifinal.
