LONDON, England — After defeating Germany in a 92-88 victory at 02 Arena in London, Team USA stands with a crisp a 5-0 record in a five-game preparation slate ahead of the Paris Olympics. LeBron James guided the team again by scoring 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, particularly with six being scored with under a minute remaining in regulation to seal the victory. He added six rebounds and four assists, with one steal and a block in only 18 minutes of action.

“It’s extra motivation for us to hold each other to a standard. We already knew they were going to give us some tests, and we was gonna test them as well,” James said about Germany. “As a team that’s been together for a few years now, we saw last year what they did in the world championship. So, it’s good to see us have some competition, we love that. To compete, where every possession counts, and it’s good to get that dub.”

It was an opportunity for Team USA to avenge their 2023 FIBA World Cup defeat against Germany in Manila, Philippines, despite having almost entirely a different group this time. However, the focus is on the present and using these matches to get better collectively. “It was a good test for us, and I’m glad we were able to once again keep our composure and persevere like we did the other day against South Sudan. It was a good win for us,” James told reporters after the game.

Other standout performers for Team USA include Joel Embiid, who scored 15 points, eight rebounds, and five assists and appeared much sharper than he had in previous matches. Stephen Curry shot just 5 of 13 overall and 1 of 7 from deep, but still scored 13 points and dished out two dimes. Anthony Edwards added 11 points, while Anthony Davis scored 10 and hauled seven boards. Jrue Holiday’s contributions cannot be overlooked as he provided 10 points, six rebounds, and three assists while joining James as the only member of the team with multiple made three-pointers on a night the team struggled from deep.

Unlike the sluggish start against South Sudan in Saturday’s 101-100 victory, which required James’ late-game heroics, Team USA achieved a strong start against Germany, including a 21-4 surge in the first quarter. The defensive versatility of Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo was challenging for Germany to handle. At the same time, the Americans executed offensively on jump shots and attacked downhill effectively to establish a 29-19 lead through the opening period.

A highly motivated German squad fought back to prevent Team USA from breaking the game wide open. Franz Wagner, who scored a team-high 18 points overall, converted a three-pointer in part of a run to make it a one-possession game, with Germany trailing just 42-39 at one moment in the second quarter, but the Americans fired back with a 6-0 run, including an emphatic block from Embiid that led to a breakaway dunk for Edwards. The Minnesota Timberwolves star flexed for the crowd after landing back on the crowd, sparking momentum for his group.

The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair between both teams. Germany even led by as many as five points, with perimeter shooting heating up and Wagner intent on attacking the paint to either finish at the rim or get to the free-throw line. With tightened-up defensive execution making Team USA’s offense look stagnant at times, the Germans led 71-68 entering the final period.

“I thought we played our best basketball in the third quarter, played with great tempo, and then somebody named LeBron James made some pretty good plays at the end,” Germany head coach Gordie Herbert said about LeBron James.

Using a 10-4 run to open the fourth quarter, Team USA led 78-75 with just over six minutes remaining in regulation. It began with Davis continuing to impose his will in the paint by overpowering Germany’s more undersized bigs for a three-point play. This stretch had a series of highly impressive plays, including a behind-the-back dribble from Curry to set up a drive to the rim for a flashy scoop finish. Curry found Booker using a no-look pass in transition, and Booker flipped up an off-balance floater along the baseline to create an and-one sequence that he converted.

The circumstances were set for Team USA to close the game out, and the group turned to its defacto closer and Team USA’s first-ever male flag bearer, James, to finish the job.

LeBron James keeps “leveling up” for Team USA!

Germany took an 82-81 lead over Team USA with over four minutes remaining in regulation. The methodical group continued to generate a high volume of three-point attempts, while the Americans did not. However, that did not matter in the mind for one reason: LeBron James.

“He’s just putting the team on his shoulders, being LeBron James,” Jrue Holiday said.

James scored Team USA’s final 11 points of the game to close out the victory, while defensively, the team contained Germany to only six points the rest of the way. His teammates appreciated his ability to rise to the occasion in the moment, and they had the wherewithal to hone in on getting defensive stops. At the same time, they were witnesses to greatness provided by the 39-year-old future Hall of Famer.

“He keeps leveling up,” Curry expressed his thoughts about LeBron James. “It’s so impressive and inspiring obviously to see what he’s doing. With this team, it’s going to come down to the last five minutes and who can make enough plays. LeBron did that the whole fourth quarter he was out there. Then we have to support him on the defensive end. It was amazing to watch. He’s obviously who he is for a reason.”

While he hit an above-the-break three-pointer that helped accelerate the momentum, it felt like James was getting to the rim by bullying whatever defender was in his way. He used his clear strength advantage to get deep on a drive before finishing at the rim. Germany could do nothing to stop him without a springy rim protector to deter this approach. As Herbert admitted, “Somebody named LeBron James made some pretty good plays at the end.”

With how talented of a group Team USA boasts, James understands there will be times when he has to step up while it will be someone else’s moment on other nights. He felt he could get it done in both games played in London and took full advantage.

“We got a great group of guys, and it doesn’t matter if it’s me, Joel [Embiid], Steph [Curry], or when [Kevin Durant] comes back,” James explained. “Everybody is going to have a moment, and that’s what the team is all about. We all root for one another no matter how the game is going.”

There is still a lot of work to be done in practice after reviewing the film from these preliminary matches and putting a plan of action into place on the court to continue growing as a group.

Team USA sees room for continued improvement

With a roster filled with some of the NBA’s top talent, the world’s general expectations remain for this group to come away with a gold medal, and any alternative outcome is considered a disappointment. For this to come to fruition, the group understands there is plenty to clean up before competing in France.

“I think we can get a lot better,” Team USA head coach Steve Kerr admitted. “We’re getting to a place now where we’re getting comfortable with rotations, and I think guys are getting familiar with each other…”

With Germany applying aggressive defensive pressure and creating turnovers, Team USA must be smarter about not being overly aggressive on drives and forcing bad passes with poor reads. Anthony Edwards, in particular, got caught trying to do too much operating out of pick-and-roll instead of passing and unselfishly getting off the ball. He wasn’t the only player to do so, but he stuck out.

“We can do a lot of things better with our passing, which was not great tonight,” Kerr detailed. “They put a lot of defensive pressure on us, and we turned it over a few times. I think we can tighten up our game and get better. And that’s the plan here in the next couple of weeks.”

Between convincing victories and a close call against South Sudan, Team USA feels the preparation process has helped them to experience everything ahead of the Olympics. “We’ve had every experience,” Curry said. “It doesn’t matter, obviously showing up when the lights are bright. I think we’re ready, I think we’re prepared. It’s just we have to perform and that’s obviously the challenge.”

One player who was a bit polarizing to observers during the preparation process was Joel Embiid. When naturalizing a recent MVP winner, the expectations for performance from that individual and the group will unquestionably be extraordinary. He’s underperformed at times, whether he’s turned it over against double teams, uncharacteristically missed shots we’re accustomed to seeing him make, or just not making a dynamic defensive impact as a paint protector; it’s been a clunky fit in stretches. However, he’s confident that he’ll be in a rhythm when meaningful games are played after using matches he compared to NBA preseason games to get there. There was definite improvement against Germany, which doesn’t surprise the Philadelphia 76ers star.

“The people that don’t watch me don’t know that every season, it takes me a couple of games to get going, so this was nothing different,” Embiid said. “This is what preseason games are for, so you can come in, get your rhythm … and do whatever you can to win.”

While the group on the floor naturally can continue to improve and is undoubtedly humble enough to admit there is room to do so, there is another factor to consider. Kevin Durant did not play again and missed the entire five-game preparation schedule, but there’s new information regarding his status.