LeBron James credits Steph Curry, Joel Embiid for Team USA’s win over Serbia

Team USA earned a memorable win over Serbia to advance to the gold medal game of the 2024 Olympics with LeBron James crediting Steph Curry and Joel Embiid in the victory.

There won’t be many games, NBA or internationally, that will compare to the USA-Serbia showdown on Thursday. With a spot in the gold medal game at the 2024 Olympics on the line, USA overcame a double-digit, fourth-quarter deficit to escape with a memorable victory.

At the center of that was a number of familiar faces. Steph Curry has his best game of the Olympics — and one of the best games in Team USA history — with 36 points and nine 3-pointers. Joel Embiid, who has been much-maligned these Olympics, was dominant offensively, finishing with 19 points.

After the game, LeBron James was quick to laud praise on those two in the win, via Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press.

“Perseverance, hard work dedication, Chef Curry and Joel ‘Process’ Embiid,” James said. “Big-time win for us. We knew we were going to be challenged. We knew it was going to be the toughest game to date. Total effort.”

LeBron wasn’t all that bad in the win, either. While he left the scoring largely to his teammates, he did notch a triple-double of 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. In the process, he became the only person in Olympic history with multiple triple-doubles.

Outside of the stat sheet, he also spent the fourth quarter guarding Nikola Jokic as well. He was everything Team USA needed him to be, including clutch. First, his layup tied the game in USA’s long comeback and another layup in the final minutes gave America a three-point lead.

While USA has relied on its depth for much of the tournament, it was four players who stepped up offensively down the stretch. On top of the aforementioned trio, Kevin Durant also scored all nine of his points in the second half and hit a pair of big shots late, including a jumper with just over 30 seconds left.

Devin Booker deserves some praise as well for his defense and a timely 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. Overall, it was a herculean effort from that quintet of players, who effectively played the entire fourth quarter together.

Even if it is an Olympics in which USA is heavily favored, it doesn’t take away from how incredible a game it was on Thursday, with an ageless LeBron James still at the center of it all.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.