Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James continues to defy the odds at nearly 40-years-old as he embarks on another Olympic tour with Team USA. With games that count kicking off next week, USA Basketball took on South Sudan on Saturday in the penultimate exhibition match.
Despite South Sudan being a 43-point underdog in this matchup, they came out with energy and effort. That resulted Team USA facing a double-figure deficit at halftime, needing to find some answers to South Sudan’s hot shooting.
To start the third quarter, head coach Steve Kerr opted to go with his bench unit that featured James’ co-star Anthony Davi witg Bam Adebayo, Anthony Edwards, Derrick White and Jayson Tatum, garnering more energy to begin a comeback.
After cutting South Sudan’s lead to eight, the starters came back in and James put his foot on the gas. Stephen Curry would chip in with two much-needed 3-pointers, including one bomb from the right hash mark to bring his team back.
Known for his defense, Jrue Holiday hounded out on the perimeter, earning himself some steals and leading to fastbreak opportunities for Team USA to get some easy points.
Ultimately, USA finished the third quarter on a 16-0 run and made five 3-pointers after only making one in the first half. Things stayed tight until the end though and the Americans actually found themselves trailing by one with 20 seconds to play. It was LeBron, of course, that came through in the clutch, driving for the game-winning layup before Team USA got one final stop to close it out.
James led the way with 23 points, six assists and six rebounds on 8-for-12 from the field and 2-for-3 from 3-point distance.
👑 x 〰️
Dominant showing for the duo. pic.twitter.com/lnpsa9zVaF
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) July 20, 2024
Davis had himself another double-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds, one steal and two blocks wgile Curry chipped in with 12 points and three 3-pointers. Anthony Edwards had 11 points and Joel Embiid finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.
On the other hand, South Sudan was led by Marial Shayok with 25 points and Carlik Jones, who put together a triple-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Former Lakers center Wenyen Gabriel chipped in with 11 points and six rebounds.
Shayok would make things interesting in the fourth quarter, clawing back with some crucial shot-making. JT Thor made a corner 3-pointer to give South Sudan a one-point lead, but James responded by getting downhill for the game-winning basket, 101-100.
All in all, USA got outscored by 21 from 3-point range, but South Sudan would cool off in the second half, opening the door for the comeback. With only one exhibition game remaining, this was a setback from their previous performance against Serbia and something that USA can hopefully learn from.
Next up for LeBron James and Team USA
Team USA will stay in London to wrap up their exhibition schedule against Germany on July 22. Olympic group play takes place on July 28 as Serbia awaits for a rematch.
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