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2024 Paris Olympics

Team USA survives massive upset scare, defeats South Sudan 101-100

© Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

Team USA came back from down as much as 16 to survive an upset scare by South Sudan and win its fourth-straight exhibition game 101-100 in London.

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The U.S. started off 1-for-12 from 3, while South Sudan, a 43-point underdog, shot over 60% in the first half as a team. However, a 37-18 third quarter that was concluded by a 16-0 U.S. run put the Americans back in front. South Sudan did not go away, leading 100-99 with 20 seconds to go, but a LeBron James layup with eight seconds remaining ended up being the game-winner for the U.S.

Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker started his second exhibition game alongside Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, James and Joel Embiid. Kevin Durant missed his fourth-straight exhibition with a calf strain, despite returning to practice yesterday.

Team USA’s bench unit of Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards, Jayson Tatum, Bam Adebayo  and Anthony Davis struggled mightily against South Sudan’s taller bench in the first half, but recovered to start the second half with Derrick White starting in place of Haliburton.

The 39-year-old James had his best game yet in USA’s second-to-last exhibition game, finishing with 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting, seven assists and six rebounds in 23 minutes. Davis once again imposed his will defensively, recording 15 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks, despite a tough start to the game. Embiid added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Curry had 12 points and shot 3-for-9 from deep.

The Americans ended shooting 36-for-77 (46.8%) from the floor and 7-for-28 (25%) from 3 and recorded 23 assists to 12 turnovers.

For South Sudan, Carlik Jones, who averaged 15.9 points across four collegiate seasons at Radford and Louisville from 2017-21, had a historic game, posting a triple-double of 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Marial Shayok went 6-of-12 from deep and had a game-high 25 points for South Sudan. Jones and Shayok kept South Sudan in it the whole time, while JT Thor, who had 14 points, nearly won them the game with a go-ahead corner 3 with 20 seconds remaining.

South Sudan shot 38-for-80 (47.5%) from the field as a team and 14-for-33 (42.2%) from 3.

Suns forward Bol Bol is not playing for South Sudan due to personal reasons.

These two teams are both in Group C in the 2024 Paris Olympics and will square off again on July 31 in Paris.

Game Flow

Team USA started the game on an 8-0 run and James scored six of the Americans’ first 10 points. South Sudan came storming back by converting four of its first five 3s and getting easy looks at the rim to eventually take a 18-16 lead. South Sudan led 26-24 at the end of the first quarter, shooting 10-of-19 (52.6%) as a team compared to 9-of-21 (42.9%) for the U.S.

The U.S.’s struggles only grew in the second quarter, as the Americans finished 1-for-12 from 3 in the first half and had nine turnovers. Meanwhile, South Sudan led by as much as 16 and was up 58-44 at the end of the first half after shooting 22-for-36 (61.1%) as a team from the field and 7-for-14 from 3. Shayok had a game-high 14 points for South Sudan, while James was the only Team USA player in double-figures with 10 points.

Although the bench struggled in the first half, Team USA put them in to start the second half and began on a 14-4 run to quickly cut the South Sudanese lead to only four with six minutes left in the third quarter. Shayok would not let the U.S. come all the way back with two 3s to put South Sudan up 71-60 with 4:18 remaining in the period. South Sudan later led 76-65, but the U.S. went on a 16-0 run to close the quarter and go up 81-76 heading into the fourth. Overall, the Americans outscored South Sudan 37-18 in the third.

South Sudan did not let the U.S. run grow, as it quickly made it an 85-84 U.S. lead before James scored five straight points and the bench came in for the U.S. The Americans increased the lead to as much as seven, 99-92, but South Sudan went on an 8-0 run and re-took the lead, 100-99, with 20 seconds left after Thor hit a contested corner 3 over James. After a timeout, James iso’ed against Thor and overpowered him on a drive and hit a left-handed layup over him with eight seconds remaining. The U.S. shut down South Sudan’s look at the rim on the final possession.

Next Up

Team USA will stay in London for its final exhibition games ahead of the Olympics on Monday (July 22) at 12 p.m. MST against Germany. The game will be televised on FOX.

Kevin Durant out for Team USA’s exhibition against South Sudan

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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau

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