Stephen Curry, LeBron James Lead USA to Comeback Win vs. Serbia

LeBron James and Stephen Curry celebrate Team USA's win against Serbia at the 20224 Olympics
LeBron James and Stephen Curry celebrate Team USA's win against Serbia at the 20224 Olympics / Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Team USA pulled off a come-from-behind victory in nail-biting fashion against Serbia in the Olympic semifinals on Thursday, setting the stage for a gold medal showdown with France in the final.

After the game, LeBron James credited Serbia for a well-fought game before championing Stephen Curry and Joel Embiid for their crucial contributions to the victory.

"Kudos to Serbia, but we came through. Chef Curry with a vintage Chef Curry game. Joel was big time for us. And we needed it, we needed it," James said.

It certainly was a "vintage Chef Curry game," as the 36-year-old dropped a game-high 36 points while shooting 9-for-14 from three-point territory. He scored 17 of the U.S.'s first 20 points in the game and made five threes in the opening quarter. Curry's 36 points were the most in an Olympic knockout game in history for the United States.

Embiid also stepped up for the U.S., providing 19 points and four rebounds in the win. As for James, he logged a triple-double—just the fourth ever at the Olympics—with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. In doing so, James became the first player to record multiple triple-doubles at the Olympics.

Although their performance was anything but pretty, the U.S. was able to turn things around in the fourth quarter and pull off the critical victory. Now, they'll look to secure the gold medal that they were widely favored to win, with the gold medal game on Saturday, Aug. 10.


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Karl Rasmussen
KARL RASMUSSEN

Karl Rasmussen is a staff writer for the Breaking and Trending News team for Sports Illustrated. A University of Oregon alum who joined SI in February 2023, his work has appeared on 12up and ClutchPoints. Rasmussen is a loyal Tottenham, Jets, Yankees and Ducks fan.