Team USA survives scare from South Sudan, storms back to avoid stunning upset

LONDON — The American men’s Olympic team faced its first true test of the summer from a surprising source and passed, avoiding what would have been one of the most stunning losses in 50 years of USA Basketball.

Team USA overcame a 16-point deficit to beat South Sudan, the youngest nation playing international basketball, 101-100, to remain unbeaten in exhibition play this summer.

“I did not do a great job preparing our team,” American coach Steve Kerr said. “I think we did not focus enough on what they’re capable of and that’s on me.”

LeBron James, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and arguably the greatest to ever play as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, turned in his best game of the summer with 25 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. His drive to the basket for a left-handed layup with 8 seconds left was the game-winner.

Stephen Curry, another all-time great and the best shooter who ever lived, added 10 points. Former NBA MVP Joel Embiid had his best game for Team USA so far with 14 points and 7 boards, and Anthony Davis was a monster yet again with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The Americans needed every ounce of those performances from its biggest stars to beat a country that didn’t exist until 2011, has no current NBA players and whose biggest “star” may be a skinny, 17-year-old who’s headed to Duke.

“We can be beat if we don’t play our brand of basketball, and our brand of basketball is playing defense,” said Curry, who shot 3 of 10. “But we also learned we have that gear if we can find it, no matter who’s out there on the court, we can overwhelm teams for 40 minutes and it’s a great reminder of both.”

Marial Shayok, a Canadian-born forward who plays professionally in China, led the South Sudanese with 25 points and six 3s. Carlik Jones, who has played 12 NBA games over three seasons, produced a triple-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Wenyen Gabriel, a former teammate of James on the Los Angeles Lakers, contributed 11 points and six rebounds, and JT Thor, who’s played with the Charlotte Hornets but is not currently on a team, scored 14 points. Khaman Maluach, who’s going to Duke, scored 7 points off the South Sudan bench.

Jones had a good look at a bank shot with about four seconds left that missed; Gabriel grabbed the offensive rebound but missed the putback dunk attempt at the buzzer. Official scorers credited Anthony Edwards with the game-saving block, and the South Sudanese wanted a foul called.

“We got a good shot, we got a rebound and we got a good look at it,” said South Sudan coach Royal Ivey, who is an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets. “I’m not a ref, but I thought it was contact when Wenyen Gabriel got the ball and it was a no-call, but I can’t blame it on the (refs). We play the game and at the end of the day we live with the results and there’s no complaining about it.”

The South Sudanese, who were built by former NBA star Luol Deng, are in the Olympics for the first time; the Americans are four-time defending Olympic gold medalists. The two will face each other in a game that counts during pool play at the Paris Olympics, on July 31.

For two full quarters, South Sudan was the faster, more disciplined, better shooting team. The South Sudanese built a 16-point lead in the first half — it was 58-44 at halftime — by holding the Americans to 1-of-12 shooting on 3s and banging home seven treys.

Kerr said the Americans didn’t use their one practice in London to prepare properly. He said part of it was the dominant victory Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, followed by the long flight Tuesday from the United Arab Emirates to the United Kingdom, which he said set the stage for a “letdown.”

But rather than pack it in and chalk it up as a loss in a game that didn’t count, the whole American team — coaches and players — played to win. Kerr swapped out his starters for the second unit to start the second half and also changed out second-string point guard Tyrese Haliburton for Derrick White to crank up the ball pressure even more on Jones and Shayok.

“This team was quicker than the teams we played so far, and we had a really hard time guarding the ball the first half and because of that, they were getting open for 3s,” Kerr said. “One thing we know well with USA basketball, if teams are going to make 14 3s on us, then they’ve got a real shot.”

When Kerr went back to his starters in the third quarter, James opened with a 3-ball and then set up Jrue Holiday for a layup. James relentlessly drove to the rim and registered multiple tone-setting dunks and otherwise pushed the pace. He also seemed to gather most of the team after a timeout, before the ball was inbounded, as if to demand that they do what they must to win.

A win is a win.

The Americans closed the third quarter on runs of 21-5 and 16-0. Devin Booker’s 3-pointer with 58 seconds left in the period tied the score at 76, and then Curry chased down a loose ball and fired it from near the timeline for the go-ahead 3-ball on the next possession.

USA led by 7 in the fourth quarter, and James was hot, but Kerr stuck to his pattern of subbing in five new players at a time. He also stayed with White over Haliburton, and South Sudan crawled back with a chance to win at the end.

“We do not have a lot of time to continue to not take a step forward,” said James, whose last game in London before this one was the 2012 Olympic gold medal game. “It doesn’t matter when it comes to how close the game is and whatnot. Did we get better? I felt like in the first half we allowed ‘em to get comfortable. They started hitting 3s and then in the second half we played our style of basketball.”

The U.S. team that fields only NBA talent — mostly All-Stars, and in the case of its 2024 Olympic team, a roster full of future hall of famers — has lost nine games in five summers.

In 2021, Team USA lost an exhibition game to another African nation — Nigeria — in Las Vegas, but that Nigerian team had far more NBA talent than the group the South Sudan used to pull off a major upset. The Americans went on to win the gold medal in Tokyo that summer, enduring two losses in the exhibition season and then a loss to France to open Olympic play.

“I think there is a tendency at times to let down. … This was kind of a natural letdown game that you fear,” Kerr said. “I think because it was a friendly. I think we let our guard down as a team, as a staff for sure. But what we’ve learned with USA basketball is that the gap has closed.”

“Nigeria beat us in a friendly in 2021 in Las Vegas, so it’s not a shock to see a team from South Sudan play really well and knock down 3s,” Kerr continued. “The game has gotten better across the globe, but we still feel like we always control the outcome with our performance, and as good as every other team is now, we still feel like it’s up to us to determine the outcome based on our defense and our effort.

“And I thought that waned tonight for the whole first half and once we picked it up in the second half, it was a game already. And that’s why we were in the fight that we were in.”

The Americans will close out exhibition play Monday against Germany, which won the FIBA World Cup last summer. Team USA is hoping to have Kevin Durant (left calf strain) on the court for that game. He has not played in any exhibition game this summer.

© 2024 The New York Times Company