Even with a paper towel pressed to his forehead, LeBron James had no problem popping off the bench, punching an arm in the air and celebrating Anthony Davis’ soaring one-handed put-back dunk.
The Lakers stars helped the United States blow out Brazil in the quarterfinals of the Olympics on Thursday at Bercy Arena, advancing to the semifinals with a 122-87 victory. The Americans will face Serbia on Thursday in a rematch of a U.S. pool play victory.
The United States is 34-1 in the Olympics since 2004 and trying to win a fifth consecutive gold medal.
James took a stray elbow to the face halfway through the third quarter that put an early end to a clinical performance with 12 points on five-of-six shooting with nine assists, three rebounds and three steals. He left the court with three minutes remaining in the third quarter with a paper towel pressed above his left eye and returned with three minutes remaining in the game to chants of “Le-Bron!” When shown on the big screen, James waved his hand in recognition and mimicked putting a crown on his head.
The capacity crowd at Bercy Arena was electric in the prior game Thursday evening that featured host nation France upsetting Canada 82-73 for a spot in the semifinals, but was mostly sleepy during the U.S. blowout. The most energy early on seemed to come when Joel Embiid touched the ball, prompting loud boos each time.
The Philadelphia 76ers star with French citizenship shunned the Olympic host country by choosing to play for the United States, where he became a naturalized citizen in 2022 after being born in Cameroon. When Embiid hit his second three-pointer of the first half, Davis and Bam Adebayo waved their hands toward the suddenly quiet crowd asking for more.
Embiid finished with 14 points with seven rebounds. Devin Booker led the United States with 18 points.
James’ family, including his wife, Savannah, son Bryce and daughter Zhuri, sat in the stands with families of other U.S. players. More than a decade since his last Olympic Games, James has been soaking up the experience. He was the flag bearer for the United States during the opening ceremony. Last week, he waited out an evening rain delay to watch a beach volleyball match featuring Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss. When he danced on the big screen, 9-year-old Zhuri covered her face in embarrassment.
In his first Olympics since 2012, James told reporters he even got butterflies listening to the national anthem before the team’s opening game. Teammates hope James’ return to the international stage gives opponents similar nerves.
“He puts fear in the other team,” Kevin Durant told reporters after the United States’ victory over Serbia that opened group play. “That goes a long way, the psyche of the game.”
The Lakers superstar’s yellow No. 23 and No. 6 jerseys dotted the capacity crowd at Bercy Arena. One group held a sign that read “LeBron LeGoat.”
The small pockets of Brazilian fans made their presence known in the second quarter when Brazil cut the deficit to eight points with 4:07 remaining before halftime. Fans wearing yellow and green started chanting “Bra-zil!” when forward Lucas Dias drained a three-pointer.
The United States quieted them quickly with a 21-2 run to end the half. James capped the scoring streak with a no-look, alley-oop pass to Jayson Tatum on an out-of-bounds play, zipping the ball toward the rim where the Boston Celtics star slammed it with two hands. For good measure, James forced a final steal at the halftime buzzer.
