VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France — LeBron James couldn’t resist. He walked past Stephen Curry in the mixed zone Saturday, just as Curry was answering the Chronicle’s question about another frustrating shooting night.
Curry had made his first two shots against Puerto Rico, including a 3-pointer he swished to the crowd’s deafening delight. Did it feel like one of his signature flurries was coming?
“You want to continue to be confident shooting the ball — I always am,” Curry said. “I know a flurry is coming.”
On cue, without breaking stride, James turned his head and shouted back, “It sure is, goddamn it.”
This brief, amusing exchange between Team USA’s two most accomplished players came shortly after the Americans completed group play with a 104-83 romp. The U.S. won its three Group C games by an average margin of 21.3 points.
That earned head coach Steve Kerr’s team the top seed in the quarterfinals Tuesday in Paris. The U.S. will play Brazil, fully aware the road to a gold medal soon will become more daunting — if not Tuesday, then certainly in Thursday’s semifinals against Australia or Serbia.
And if the Americans find themselves in a close game, or needing to erase a deficit, they obviously could use Steph Curry doing Steph Curry things.
He shot poorly in the final two U.S. exhibition games (4-for-16 from long range), then solidly in his Olympic debut against Serbia (3-for-7 from deep). Curry struggled mightily in Wednesday’s win over South Sudan, going 1-for-9 from the field and missing all six of his shots beyond the arc.
He then went 3-for-8 on Saturday (2-for-6 from distance), missing five of his final six shots.
One of Curry’s misses was a contested, fastbreak layup, when Puerto Rico’s Christopher Ortiz challenged him at the rim and appeared to hit Curry’s arm. Curry looked around for a foul, but he’s learning those whistles don’t come freely in physical FIBA games (where hand-checking is permitted, for example).
Curry downplayed the adjustment to FIBA; this is his first international competition in 10 years, since the 2014 World Cup. He also acknowledged size helped for the biggest scorers in U.S. Olympic history, such as Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony.
“Rarely does one person take over a (FIBA) game,” Curry said. “Guys who are 6-9 can find matchups, so it’s a little easier for them for sure. But on the whole, I think it just looks different, and you have to be comfortable with how it feels and looks compared to the NBA.
“The physicality doesn’t feel different on the court. But just because of the style of play, the shortened game, the load of talent we have, it’s going to look different. Once you adjust to that, and get comfortable, then you’re fine.”
Curry contributed in other ways, grabbing five rebounds to go with his eight points. He also had one slick, second-quarter assist, when he and Durant kept feeding each other after offensive rebounds — first Durant missed a 3-point try off a Curry pass, then Curry missed one off a Durant pass and then Durant finally made one off a Curry pass.
The U.S. outscored Puerto Rico by 18 points in Curry’s 18 minutes on the court, recovering nicely after a sluggish first quarter.
Even so, the competition figures to be fiercer in the single-elimination portion of the Olympics. Canada, with 10 NBA players, rolled through Group A without a loss. Germany went unbeaten in Group B, including an emphatic victory over Victor Wembanyama and France on Friday.
Kerr holds no illusions.
“We know we have to play better,” he said. “This tournament gets harder as you go, of course. So our goal is to try to get better each game. We’ll have (Sunday) off and then it’s a one-week sprint.”
Asked about specific areas in which his team must improve, Kerr said, “We have to take better care of the ball. We don’t need to make home run plays, we just need to hit singles. Our talent is overwhelming if we make the right play. And our opponents are getting a lot of offensive rebounds.”
One example of the “overwhelming” talent stepped forward Saturday, and his name is Anthony Edwards. He doesn’t have the career resume of Curry, James or Durant, but Edwards might be the best offensive player on Team USA.
He scored 26 points against Puerto Rico, on a mix of 3-point shots, midrange jumpers and one highlight-reel, open-court dunk after a steal. Edwards has been anchoring the second unit, but it seems likely he will be on the court down the stretch if the U.S. plays a close game.
“Anthony can score anytime in any situation,” Kerr said. “That’s the benefit of having a guy like that — in a tight situation when you need a shot, you know he can get one. … As he continues to learn how to use his talent, and be efficient in his play, he’ll be unguardable.”
Anthony Edwards, who scored 26 points, goes up for a dunk during the United States’ win over Puerto Rico on Saturday in a group-play game in the Paris Olympics. Team USA will play in the quarterfinals Tuesday.
Anthony Edwards, who scored 26 points, goes up for a dunk during the United States’ win over Puerto Rico on Saturday in a group-play game in the Paris Olympics. Team USA will play in the quarterfinals Tuesday.
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
The U.S. fell behind Puerto Rico by eight points in the first half, mostly because of tepid defense. That happened one day after Kerr described his team’s identity as “defense, defense, defense.”
Not in the first quarter.
The Americans (including Curry) struggled to contain lightning-quick Puerto Rico guard Jose Alvarado, a solid player with the New Orleans Pelicans. Puerto Rico scored 29 points in the first quarter, but the U.S. busted open the game with a 39-16 second quarter, fueled by active defense leading to easier shots in transition.
That gave Team USA a 19-point halftime lead, allowing Kerr to rest some players in the second half.
James still filled the stat sheet with 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds in 18 minutes. He has been the constant for Kerr throughout the five-game exhibition tour and the three group-play games.
Still, all the principals know this probably won’t be a stress-free stroll to glory in Paris.
“Look in the history books,” Curry said. “Besides the ’92 team, everyone’s had a battle somewhere to win the gold medal. Maybe it’s shots not falling against a team playing amazing, and you have to grind out a win.
“We’ve been uncomfortable a couple of times in the exhibition series. Even through spurts of the Serbia and South Sudan games, we could feel it: When things get a little tight, how do you respond?
“We know we can beat everybody — it’s just can you focus on the game plan, when it’s so specific to each individual team? And you have to prepare quickly, that’s the biggest challenge.”