Kevin Durant became the United States’ all-time leading scorer in the Olympics during Thursday’s pivotal quarterfinal victory over Brazil for Team USA. The Stars and Stripes prevailed 122–87 thanks to Durant’s 11 points in only 17 minutes of playing time.
Steph Curry praised his current national teammate and former Warriors teammate after the game.
Curry uploaded a photo from USA Basketball to Instagram and captioned it, “Congrats slim!!!”Although Durant left the Warriors a year after leading Golden State to consecutive NBA titles in 2017 and 2018, there appears to be zero animosity between the two.
The “Slim Reaper” has impressed in his fourth Olympics, finishing second in scoring for the United States in Paris. On the other hand, Curry has failed to produce any noteworthy scoring performances in his first Games this summer.
Still, the United States Men’s National Team has been unstoppable so far, cruising to victories in all four of its matches by a margin of at least 17 points. After a 110-84 loss in the group round to the reigning champions Serbia, the team will face Serbia again in the semifinals.
As Team USA defeated Brazil, LeBron James took a blow to the upper eye from an elbow
As a memento of his team’s Olympic triumph over Brazil, LeBron James received a certain item.
On Tuesday, James and Team USA defeated Brazil by a score of 122–87, advancing them to the semifinals. The game was somewhat lackluster overall, but judging from James’ left eye, you would never guess that.
While playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in the third quarter, top player Georginho de Paula of Brazil accidentally elbowed James above the eye. James, who was positioned beneath the basket, was elbowed by an airborne de Paula as he anticipated a rebound.
The play’s video is available here.
James collapsed on the floor on the court in agony and eventually departed from the game to visit the locker room. A wound above his eye would be noticeable when he returned to the bench later.James, who was 39 years old when he left the game, likely didn’t need to return because Team USA led by 23 points and went on to win by 35 points. Furthermore, James assured the media that he was alright following the game.
Despite only playing 17 minutes, James managed to rack up nine points, three assists, and two blocks in the match against Brazil. With any luck, James will be fine to play in Thursday’s semifinal round match against Nikola Jokic and Serbia, though he may be seeing three baskets again, similar to when he injured his eye the previous time.