By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer
On Friday, LeBron James will carry the U.S. flag. But first, he carried the U.S. men’s basketball team.
Again.
The 39-year-old Lakers star scored the final 11 points for the Americans down the stretch, and the four-time reigning Olympic gold medalists held off FIBA World Cup champion Germany, 92-88, on Monday in London in their final tune-up before the Paris Games start later this week.
Announced earlier in the day as the male flagbearer for the Americans in Friday night’s opening ceremony down the River Seine – the female flagbearer will be revealed Tuesday – James came through time and time again down the stretch, just as he did over the weekend when his layup with eight seconds left gave the U.S. a 101-100 victory over upstart South Sudan.
James, who opened the game opened the game with two ferocious dunks in the first three minutes, finished with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists against Germany, while Joel Embiid had 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Steph Curry had 13 and Anthony Edwards finished with 11. Lakers star Anthony Davis added 10 points, seven rebounds and one blocked shot in 14 minutes.
Franz Wagner led Germany with 18 points. Andreas Obst – the hero of last year’s German victory over the U.S. in the World Cup semifinals – had 14, while former Laker Dennis Schroder had a 13-point, 10-assist night. Former Clipper Daniel Theis added 13 for Germany and the Orlando Magic’s Moritz Wagner scored 12.
The Americans finished their exhibition slate 5-0, but there was only one game that was a true cakewalk. That was against Serbia, the team that will face the U.S. on Sunday in the first Olympic game this summer for both teams.
Canada gave the U.S. issues at times, Australia came from way back to make things interesting at the end, South Sudan nearly pulled off an upset as a 43½-point underdog and the Germans had the lead over the U.S. with four minutes left on Monday.
Then it was James’ time. He outscored Germany 11-6 by himself in the final 3:57.
And now, Paris awaits. The games start for real this weekend.
3-point troubles
For the second consecutive game, the U.S. got outscored by 21 points from 3-point range. And it nearly burned the Americans again.
Germany was 13 for 45 from behind the arc, the U.S. was 6 for 17, and that’s a 39-18 difference in points from deep.
South Sudan outscored the U.S. 42-21 from deep on Saturday.
Also not helping the U.S. cause on Monday: it had 14 turnovers to Germany’s seven.
Looking back
Theis had 26 points, while Schroder and Obst had 24 apiece in Germany’s 113-111 win over the U.S. in the World Cup at Manila a year ago.
That trio was fantastic again Monday, combining for 40 points.
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It should be noted that the loss to Germany last year was about the time when some players – James, for example – started seriously thinking about joining the U.S. program for this run to the Paris Games.
No Durant
Kevin Durant got some pregame shots up again, just as he did Saturday in London. And, again, that was the extent of his game-night action.
The three-time Olympic gold medalist did not play while he continues to recover from the calf strain he suffered a few days before the U.S. convened for training camp in Las Vegas.
Durant missed all five pre-Olympic games exhibitions, though he did practice this past weekend. He has not appeared in a real game since late April, when Phoenix was swept by Minnesota in a first-round playoff series.
Team USA officials must finalize their roster by this Saturday.
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