LeBron James scored the final 11 points for the U.S. in a 92-88 win over Germany, concluding their pre-Olympic tour.
James, announced earlier as the male flagbearer for the U.S. in Friday’s opening ceremony, secured the victory in London on Monday night. He scored the decisive points down the stretch, similar to his game-winning layup with 8 seconds left against South Sudan over the weekend.
James tallied 20 points, while Joel Embiid contributed 15, Stephen Curry added 13, and Anthony Edwards finished with 11 for the U.S.
“It was a good test for us. And I’m glad we were able to once again, you know, keep our composure, persevere like we did the other day versus South Sudan,” James said. “It was a good win for us.”
Franz Wagner led Germany with 18 points. Andreas Obst had 14, Dennis Schroder recorded 13 points and 10 assists, Daniel Theis scored 13, and Moritz Wagner added 12.
The U.S. ended their exhibition series with a 5-0 record, with only one game being a decisive win against Serbia, their first Olympic opponent on Sunday.
Canada, Australia, and South Sudan presented challenges to the U.S. team, with Germany leading with 4 minutes left on Monday before James secured the win by outscoring Germany 11-6 in the final 3:57.
“We’ve had every experience,” Curry said. “Now it’s obviously a matter of showing up when the lights are bright next week. I think we’re ready. I think we’re prepared. Now we have to perform.”
For the second consecutive game, the U.S. was outscored by 21 points from 3-point range. Germany made 13 of 45 from beyond the arc, while the U.S. made 6 of 17, resulting in a 39-18 difference in points from deep. South Sudan also outscored the U.S. 42-21 from deep on Saturday. Additionally, the U.S. had 14 turnovers compared to Germany’s seven.
“I don’t think we’ve played our best offensive game yet,” Curry said.
In the previous year’s World Cup, Theis had 26 points, with Schroder and Obst scoring 24 apiece in Germany’s 113-111 win over the U.S. This performance influenced some players, including James, to consider joining the U.S. team for the Paris Games.
Kevin Durant, recovering from a calf strain, did not play in the pre-Olympic games despite practicing over the weekend. He has not played in a real game since late April, following Phoenix’s first-round NBA playoff series loss to Minnesota.
