LeBron James makes Olympic history in Team USA semifinal win
The United States men’s basketball team advanced in a thrilling 95-91 win over Serbia on Thursday, erasing what had been at one point a 17-point deficit to avoid what would have been a massive upset. The win sends them through to the finals where they will face host country France for a shot at the gold medal. The trio of LeBron James, Steph Curry and Joel Embiid helped carry them through, with James having an especially dominant showing. It also put him into a very small and exclusive club for Olympic men’s basketball.
James finished the game with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, giving him a triple-double in the win. That is his second triple-double in Olympic competition. It was not only just the fourth triple-double in Olympic history; he is the first player to ever accomplish it twice. James’ first triple-double came during the 2012 games against Australia.
Curry finished with a game-high 36 points in the win, while Embiid contributed 19 points. Kevin Durant also came off the bench to chip in nine of team USA’s 15 bench points.
While it was a thrilling comeback and win, there were some pretty big criticisms for the American team, including its defensive showing and the fact that head coach Steve Kerr still refuses to include Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum as part of his rotations.
Even with all of that, they are still just one win away from their fifth consecutive gold medal and eighth in the past nine Olympics.
