LeBron James credited Stephen Curry and Joel Embiid for their effort in the win and said that it was one of the best games he’s played in. James was eager to face France in the final and signed out their team spirit ahead of the matchup.
Credit Aris Messinis/AFP – Scanpix
Team USA was down by as many as 17 points in the Olympic semifinal against Serbia. They were down by 13 after three quarters but managed to come back and edge out an emphatic win. Leading the team was 39-year-old Lebron James, who registered a rare Olympic triple-double.
Player of the Game
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38Stephen CurryPoints36Accuracy12-19Rebounds8Assists2
James scored 16 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and dished out 10 assists en route to a victory in the game of the tournament. However, he was quick to praise his teammates after the win.
“Perseverance, hard work, dedication. Chef Curry, Joel ‘Process’ Embiid,” he said when asked what made Team USA overcome a big deficit and win in the end. “Big-time win for us, and we knew it was going to be a challenge, we knew it was going to be the toughest game up to date. It was a true total effort.”
Stephen Curry scored a whopping 36 points, making 9 three-pointers in 14 attempts, just one make shy of an Olympic record. Meanwhile, Joel Embiid, who struggled throughout the majority of the Olympic tournament, was second on the team in scoring with 19 points.
Nevertheless, Lebron took it into his own hands during the last minutes of the game, assuming the role of the leader.
“Not anger, it’s all about competitive flow, competitive juices, and just trying to get everything as close to perfection as possible,” he explained his emotions during fourth quarter.
“I’m always trying to be aggressive and make plays for our team, trying to do a little bit of everything on the floor,” he later continued. “My teammates believe in me, and I was able to come through for them.”
After the game ended, James made a short speech to all his Team USA teammates, just like he does after every match in the Paris Olympics.
“I told them that, you know, it’s good to be tested, it’s great to be tested, and our ultimate goal is one game away,” he revealed. “We look forward to the matchup on Saturday against France.”
At 39 years old, it’s most likely the last Olympic Games of a two-time gold medalist, James.
“It’s up there. I’m 39 years old, it’s my 22nd season. I don’t know how many opportunities and moments I’m going to get like this to be able to compete for something, to be able to compete for something big and playing big games. And tonight was a big game,” he said about the incredible matchup against Serbia.
Two days later, an Olympic final awaits Team USA, where they will match up against France, who unexpectedly defeated Germany in the semifinal a few hours before the Serbia-USA game.
“Super competitive,” LeBron said about the French national team. “You know, they’ve been playing together for a while. Obviously, this is Wemby’s first Olympics but that team’s been playing together for quite a while. They’ve been feeding off the crowd, so we’re looking forward to that matchup.”
