The Return of the King: LeBron James claims third Olympic title as USA beat hosts France

Decked out in gold sneakers that appeared to anticipate victory the 39-year-old James, back on the Olympic stage for the first time since London 2012, finished with 14 points, ten assists and six rebounds to underpin the American performance.

Kevin Durant finished with 15 points on his way to his fourth gold medal but it was Stephen Curry who topped the scoring charts, nailing a series of late three-pointers to finish on 24 points.

Victor Wembanyama had 26 points and Guerschon Yabusele 20 for France but they did not have enough of a supporting cast to cope with the United States' all-star line-up, and settled for Olympic silver for a fourth time.

Los Angeles Lakers star James opened the scoring with a dunk and then set about helping his team-mates, with his no-look pass teeing up Devin Booker.

France, who lost the Tokyo final to the United States 87-82 three years ago, were determined not to back down on their home court.

Through the San Antonio Spurs' Wembanyama, the 2023 number one NBA draft pick, and Real Madrid's Yabusele in the points, they kept the scores close for much of the first half and managed to get under the skin of Durant and Booker in a pair of confrontations.

But the United States began to ease clear in the second quarter as Golden State Warriors great Curry, whose 36 points led them past Nikola Jokic's Serbia in a close semi-final, began to find his range from beyond the arc.

Another three-pointer from Jrue Holiday made it 49-41 just before the break, and early in the second half Curry gave the United States a 56-43 lead with a shot from the corner.

In front of the watching President Emmanuel Macron France kept battling, closing the gap to 65-59 on Evan Fournier's three-pointer late in the third quarter, only for James to respond in kind and take his own tally into double figures.

France refused to go away in a tense fourth quarter, and eight unanswered points cut the deficit to 82-79 on a basket from Wembanyama with less than three minutes on the clock.

But France had no answer as Curry sank three three-pointers inside the final two minutes to take the game away from them.

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