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Team USA Sneaks By South Sudan in Olympic Tune-Up After Furious Comeback

LeBron James's late bucket rescued Team USA against South Sudan.

Ryan Phillips

Team USA scratched out a come-from-behind win in one of its final exhibition games before the Paris Olympics.
Team USA scratched out a come-from-behind win in one of its final exhibition games before the Paris Olympics. / Joe Murphy / Getty Images

LeBron James rescued Team USA from what would have been a massive upset.

With the Americans trailing 100–99 and fewer than 10 seconds remaining, James went hard to the hoop from the left side, deftly sticking the ball off the glass and through the net to give Team USA the lead again and eventual 101–100 victory. It was a vintage move from one of the greatest players in the sport's history. And Team USA needed it to save them.

For the game's opening 20 minutes, the Americans looked completely overmatched against South Sudan. Yes, you read that right.

South Sudan used hot shooting and swarming defense to take a 58–44 lead into halftime. U.S. head coach Steve Kerr answered by opening the second half with his second unit, as Derrick White, Anthony Edwards, Jayson Tatum, and Bam Adebayo got the nod out of the break. The group was aggressive from the start and pushed during a 14–4 run to cut the deficit to 62–58. Davis was particularly aggressive on the interior.

The starters re-entered the game after a hot start by the bench and continued the push. Team USA outscored South Sudan 37–18 in the third quarter, including a 16–0 run to close the frame. Stephen Curry nailed a deep three-pointer to give the U.S. the lead again.

The fourth quarter saw the Americans re-establish the lead, but South Sudan wouldn't go away. With less than a minute to go it was a two-point game, when Charlotte Hornets forward JT Thor nailed a three-pointer from the corner to give the South Sudanese a one-point lead.

Then James stepped in to give Team USA the lead, and the win.

A late scramble on the other end yielded no points and the Americans could exhale after an unexpectedly hard-fought victory.

South Sudan shot 42.4% from three-point range during the game, which allowed them to keep pace with the Americans. Marial Shayok led the way for the South Sudanese with 25 points, including six three-pointers.

James led the way for the Americans, scoring 23 points, while adding six assists and six rebounds. His Los Angeles Lakers teammate Anthony Davis added 14 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks, while Joel Embiid chipped in with 14 pounds, seven boards and three assists. While Curry hit a few big shots, he struggled his way to 12 points, as he went just 3-of-9 from three-point range.

Team USA is now 4–0 in its Olympic tune-up tour and will face Germany on Monday in London. South Sudan will get another shot at the Americans during group play at the Olympics.

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Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.

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