In the thrilling Olympic semifinal match against Serbia on Thursday, Team USA overcame a late deficit to win the gold medal, paving the way for a final matchup with France. Following the game, LeBron James praised Joel Embiid and Stephen Curry for their significant contributions to the win and praised Serbia for a well-fought contest. “Serbia deserves praise, but we prevailed. Chef Curry playing a classic game of Chef Curry. Joel was very important to us. And we really did need it,” James remarked.
Definitely a “vintage Chef Curry game,” the 36-year-old scored a career-high 36 points on 9 of 14 three-point attempts. In the first quarter of the game, he made five three-pointers and scored 17 of the first 20 points for the United States. Curry scored the most points in an Olympic elimination game in American history with 36. In the victory, Embiid contributed 19 points and four rebounds for the United States. James, on the other hand, recorded just the fourth triple-double in Olympic history with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. James made Olympic history by becoming the first player to record multiple triple-doubles.
The United States was able to turn things around in the fourth quarter and pull off the crucial victory, despite their less than stellar effort. With the gold medal game scheduled for Saturday, August 10, they will now try to win the gold medal, which they were much favoured to win.