MVP chants filled the O2 arena every time Dennis Schroder touched the ball. Team USA was having flashbacks from last year’s tough loss to Germany in the FIBA World Cup. But that wasn’t meant to happen again. After a mixed bag of performances in the previous games, one can be sure about Team USA’s result-grinding ability. And why wouldn’t they be? The Hoopers have ‘THE LeBron James‘ with them.

After a fast start, Team USA took a 29-19 lead in the first quarter only to be pegged back in the next two as Germany went into the final quarter with a 71-68 lead. That is when LeBron arrived. The 39-year-old took over the fourth quarter with his dominating output and, on top of that, rallied his troops just like a true King does. With a minute and 26 seconds to go, Bron landed a shot from deep range and pushed in two more points which saw the game ending 92-88 in favor of Team USA, helping them maintain a flawless 5-0 exhibition record, but LeBron’s rally on and off the court is the only thing giving hope to the fans.

Taking a page out of Kevin Durant‘s playbook, James led an inspirational huddle after the game. In a video posted by USA Basketball, LeBron is seen saying, “Hey y’all, great job before the preliminary games. We saw some adversity. Good. We’ve been down 2 games. 2 games in a row, and that’s gonna be good for us. But like KD just said, the real sh*t begins now. Alright? We got 6 games. We’ll get one game at a time,” followed by a collective battle cry from the men in the star-spangled colors.

KD is still not at 100% to take the court, but his words were channeled through LeBron James, proving once again what veteran experience means to a team focused on the Gold. He kept his vibe going as the camera followed him into the tunnel. “I love the competition. Man, you see the opportunity in the moment, man. Stay in the moment. That’s all it’s about. Stay in the moment,” the 4-time NBA champion kept reminding himself and those around him.

LeBron James once again came clutch by adding 11 points in the final quarter of the game, outscoring Germany by 5 points, while marauding like a madman up and down the court drawing fouls, blocking shots, gobbling rebounds, and most importantly, getting the crowd going! But that was not the case for the third member of the Holy Trinity of Team USA.

LeBron James dominates as bleeding Stephen Curry struggles

While LeBron James lit up the O2 Arena with his majestic display, Stephen Curry only stood and applauded. After all, that’s the most he could do after a performance, starkly unlike him. His 5-13 field shooting and a horror 1-7 shooting from deep summed up his day. However, on closer inspection, Curry had a whole right leg bruised, and blood stains were visible on his compression shorts.

Curry’s night finished with a 13-3-2 stat line, a collector’s item that should worry Steve Kerr, who refused to take him off and played him through 25 minutes.

On the other hand, LeBron led the game in scoring with 20 points in 18 minutes. He successfully maneuvered 8 of his 11 shots into buckets with 100% accuracy from downtown with the 2 shots he made. His 6th and final rebound of the game came with only 30 seconds on the clock in the fourth quarter and he drew a foul in the process.

His 4 dimes were also flawlessly threaded, one of which found Joel Embiid for a tough shot on the spin. With the final exhibition game wrapped, Team USA will now focus on Sunday when they’ll take on Serbia in Lille. Before that, LeBron James will have the honor of leading the whole of Team USA as the historical flag bearer in the opening ceremony, something quite evidently he is adept at.