‘We were embarrassed at halftime’: US relieved after escape against underdogs South Sudan
LeBron James saved the US from a crushing defeat.
James’ layup with eight seconds left on the clock was the deciding basket on Saturday, and the U.S. Olympic team, soon to be in Paris, beat South Sudan 101-100 in London, overcoming a 16-point deficit and perhaps preventing the biggest upset in program history.
“[It was] “It’s a good reminder that when we play teams, it’s the biggest game of their lives,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said. “We have to expect everyone to play that way.”
South Sudan, the African nation that gained independence just 13 years ago and is making its first Olympic appearance, led for more than half of the race and had a chance to win near the end. But Carlik Jones’s runner on the glass missed with about four seconds left, and the U.S. pulled out a victory.
“I’ll be honest, I like those better than the blowouts,” James said as he walked off the field. “At least we’re getting tested.”
At one point, they trailed by 16 points, but the Americans emerged from that hole with an 18-0 second-half run — and it took heroics at the end to stave off South Sudan’s response. JT Thor’s 3-pointer with 20 seconds left gave South Sudan a 100-99 lead, after which the U.S. called a timeout and gave the ball to James.
He made it look easy: He waited, waited, waited, drove and put the ball in with ease to put the US back on top. The US closed the game with a defensive stop on the other end.
James finished with a game-high 25 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the U.S., which moved to 4-0 with one game remaining — Monday against world champion Germany — on its pre-Olympic exhibition tour. Anthony Davis added 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Marial Shayok had 24 points for South Sudan and Jones had a triple-double – 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
The teams will play a group match on July 31 at the Olympic Games in Paris.
“It’s basketball. It happens,” Stephen Curry said after the game. “You want to play perfect every game; it doesn’t happen. But can you dig deep and do the little things that help you win? Offense can come and go, but defense is the thing that helps you win championships, medals, all that stuff.”
It should have been a mismatch, and for the first half, it was—just not in the way anyone expected. The U.S. roster features 12 players, all All-Stars or NBA champions or both, who have totaled 189,038 points in their regular-season careers, with 7,832 combined starts. South Sudan has four players who have appeared in an NBA game. They have scored a combined 1,228 points and started 19 games.
It didn’t matter. It was 8-0 US after three minutes. South Sudan then outscored US by 24 points the rest of the half. US had South Sudan shooting 61% in the first half and was outscored 21-3 from deep in the first 20 minutes.
U.S. coach Steve Kerr said the team was “embarrassed” at halftime. “What we learned from U.S. basketball is that the game is over,” Kerr said after the game. “The game has gotten better globally.”
Kerr pointed to the team’s poor preparation for the sluggish first half. “I didn’t prepare our team well,” Kerr said. “We didn’t focus enough on what they can do, and that’s my fault. I think that gave South Sudan confidence early on. They were great. They played a great game and the end was good for us, just to feel that, to feel what it’s going to be like in Paris and Lille.”
An 18-0 second-half run – James was involved in it for most of the game – was what really saved the U.S., turning a 76-65 deficit into an 83-76 lead.
South Sudan led by 16 points at the end of the first half – 58-42 – before the Americans scored the final goal to reduce the lead to 14 points at halftime.
But the 18-0 run was crucial. James had four assists during the spurt and Curry, who stands about 35 feet tall, made a 3-pointer late in the third period that gave the U.S. its first lead since the first quarter, 79-76.
Wenyen Gabriel sank a 3-pointer to bring South Sudan back to 85-84, but James – his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate – scored from behind the 3-point line on the ensuing US possession, and the US ultimately pulled away by a hair.
“Today we were able to represent our country with pride and we fought a good battle and showed the potential of our country,” Gabriel said. “I think it was a proud moment for a lot of people.”
Davis said the team arrived at the arena late, confused by gridlocked London traffic, and pre-game routines were disrupted. That may be true, but South Sudan showed the U.S. that no one at the Olympics will give in to the reigning four-time gold medalists.
“The game was super important because we feel like we’re unbeatable and they showed us that we are,” Anthony Edwards said after the game. “We have to be ready to play.”