LeBron James and Steph Curry Lead USA to Victory Over Canada in Pre-Olympics Exhibition

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Las Vegas, — LeBron James and Steph Curry made a winning start as USA teammates in an 86-72 victory over Canada in a pre-Olympics exhibition game on Wednesday. The NBA superstars, part of a formidable USA basketball roster, are gearing up for the Paris Olympics this month, aiming for a fifth consecutive gold medal.

Playing alongside each other for the first time internationally, James and Curry displayed a near telepathic understanding during the game. Curry finished with 12 points while James contributed seven as the US overcame an early 11-1 deficit to secure the victory in their final home game before heading to Paris.

The team will travel to the United Arab Emirates next week for exhibition games against Australia and Serbia. Los Angeles Lakers star James gathered the USA team for a huddle after the win, reinforcing the team’s status as strong favorites for gold in France.

“We know we can be a lot better but we’ve only been together four days,” James commented post-game. “All the miscues offensively, and the turnovers. We’ll get better with that — but it starts on the defensive end. As long as we defend we’ll give ourselves a good chance to win every night.”

Curry echoed James's sentiments, emphasizing the importance of defense for their Olympic campaign. “We can work out the kinks and the timing on offense, but if we compete like that and commit to playing defense, we’ll be fine against anybody,” Curry said.

James, the NBA’s all-time leading points scorer, expressed his enjoyment in teaming up with Golden State's Curry. “We’re just two guys who love to play the game of basketball. It’s fun. We play the game at a high level but more importantly, we just play the game that we love the right way,” James said.

Curry added that winning a fifth consecutive gold would require a team effort. “We just want to win gold, whatever that takes. No matter what your stats are, no matter how many minutes you play — if everybody on the floor commits to just doing what you’re asked to do, we’ll be good.”