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. “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. 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. 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. 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.