USA 103 - 86 South Sudan summary, scores, stats, and highlights | Olympic Men’s Basketball

The crowd was a bit subdued at times because the game seemed to be in hand for all four quarters, but Team USA gave the fans something to get up off their seats every now and then. That's two wins out of two for Team USA, and while they haven't been blowing people out like the Dream Team back in 1992, that's more of a compliment to the rest of the world rather than an indictment of this team. 

Team USA will wrap up group stages on Saturday against Puerto Rico, and should cruise to the top spot in the group heading into the knock out rounds. Serbia and South Sudan, however will have a huge match up with win or go home potential on Saturday afternoon. 

Omot and Carlik Jones tried to spark a run in the 3rd quarter, and cut the lead down to 11, but there was too much fire power on the other side of the court. South Sudan had to be perfect to even consider beating Team USA last game, and they were far from that on Wednesday night. 

Team USA trailed at one point early in the first quarter, but they went on an 18-4 run to stretch the lead at the end of the opening 10 minutes and didn't look back. 

We'll get back to the US in a second, but can we just take time to give it up for Nuni Omot. He was the leading scorer on a floor full of superstars. He had 24 points and on 8/13 shooting, and kept his team in the game for much of the night. 

It was Kevin Durant who sizzled to a 21 point, perfect first half shooting performance against Serbia in the first game. Bam Adebayo followed his lead against South Sudan. On a night that Anthony Davis started, and Joel Embiid was sat by Steve Kerr, Adebayo had a perfect half with 14 points on 6/6 shooting. Embiid was victim of Steve Kerr's rotations that Jayson Tatum suffered in the opener. Tatum got the start today, but scored just four points. 

Derrick White was the last one to make the roster, but he is always the first one off the bench. He does all of the little things that help a team win, and he can also light it up. He had 7 points in his first few minutes off the bench, and ended the night with 10. 

Team USA and South Sudan played for a second time in the span of a week and a half, and this time there were no scares for the Americans. Bam Adebayo led the way with 18 points and 7 rebounds on a night where Team USA looked in control from start to finish. 

LeBron James, at 39 years old, has been the one not just leading this team, but setting the tone early on. He had 8 points in the first few minutes of the game, and sent a message to South Sudan from the tip. He would end the game with 12, 7 and 5 assists on a night in which six players had 10 or more points. 

IT' ALL OVER!!! 

Team USA beat South Sudan for the second time in a matter of 10 games, but this one was a little more comfortable. 

Edwards ends the game with a cherry on top, hitting a three ball from the wing. 

Jones jacks a deep three ball from the top of the key!

Edwards with the steal and the slam after picking off Jones. 

Adebayo with the baby hook in traffic from the paint. 

Omot to the line after the lay up and foul on Haliburton. FT is good. 

JOnes hits the turn around jumper after the offensive rebound. 

Jones wiglges back in the lane and gets the lay up to fall. 

Tatum to the rack and he hits the lay up in traffic. Timeout South Sudan with 1:42 to go in the game. 

Omot running the break and he throws it down in transition. He's the only one with 20+ points in this game. 

Thor follows up his own miss and gets the put back to go. 

Holiday in the corner off the pass from White and he drills the three ball!

Davis draws the double team and finds LeBron slashing down the lane for the two handed slam. 

Booker off the dribble and he hits the FT line jumper. 

Omot to the line after the foul on Curry and he hits both FTs. He's got 19 on the day. 

Open lane to the cup for Thor and he took it before slamming it down with both hands. 

PIck and roll from Durant to Davis and he soars through the lane for the two handed slam!

Booker drives strong to the rack and he lays it up and gets the foul on Gabriel. Both FTs are good. 

LeBron finds Curry on the slash to the bucket off the inbound and he hits the lay up for his first field goal. 

Jones going back to the rack off the dribble and he gets another lay up to fall in traffic. 

Davis on the kick out and he finds KD for the three ball on the wing. 

JOnes goes at Curry off the dribble, gets the lay up to fall and the foul! FT is good. The lead is down to 11 with 8:00 to go. 

Jok to the line after the foul on Davis and he hits both FTs. 

Booker off the curl and he hits the mid range jumper. 

Kuol in the corner and he drills the three ball, his fourth of the game!

Booker sends Omot to the line where he hits one of two FTs. 

Davis follows up the miss from Curry and tips in the rebound. 

WE ARE AT THE END OF THE THIRD QUARTER!!! South Sudan won that quarter 21-18, but still trail by 16. 

Shayok got Adebayo off his feet, gets the fader to go and the foul! FT is good. 

White tosses it over the top and there was Adebayo with a Big Bam on the alley oop. 

Gabriel sends Edwards to the line where he hits both FTs. The lead is back up to 17 with under 2:00 to go in the third quarter. 

Edwards drills a three ball from the top of the key off the kick out from Bam. 

Pick and roll from Kuol to Gabriel and he gets the reverse lay up to fall. 

Edwards to the line after the foul on Kuol and he hits one of two FTs. 

White answers back with a three ball from the wing! South Sudan want to keep this deficit to 10 or under in the final 4 minutes of the third quarter. 

Thor in the corner and he hits the three ball over Adebayo!

Durant to the line after the foul on Kuol and he hits both FTs. 

White fell to the floor and Omot was left open on the perimeter for three!

Kuol is starting the heat up! He hits another three ball after the steal from Jones!

Timeout USA with 6:42 to go in the 3rd. 

Jones attacking the rack again, and he hits the lay up off the glass. 

Booker answers back with a three ball off his own after the dish from LeBron. 

Kuol was open from downtown and Shayok found him for the three ball in the corner. 

Shayok to the line after the foul on Curry and he hits both FTs. 

Davis dives for the loose ball, finds Curry who lays one up from the three point line for a Tatum alley oop

WE ARE BACK LILLE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF ACTION. 

Last game it was KD going perfect through the first two quarters. Today, it's Bam Adebayo who came out hot and hasn't cooled off. He's got 14 points on 6/6 shooting. 

Derrick White was the last one to make the team, but he's the first one off the bench, and he's got 7 points at half. 

LeBron came out and set the tone early, as he has been doing for this team for the last few games dating back to the USA Basketball Showcase. He's got 10 at the break. 

WE ARE HEADED TO HALFTIME FROM LILLE!

Team USA is making much lighter work of South Sudan, thanks to Bam Adebayo's big first half. He had 14 and 4 rebounds, LeBron had 10 and so did KD. 

Nuni Omot has 13 to lead South Sudan, but he's going to need more help from Jones and Shayok. 

Curry missed the three ball but Adebayo was there for the rebound and put back slam!

Omot drives down the lane and hits the bucket in traffic, and gets the foul! FT is good after the foul on Tatum. 

Curry with the drive and kick out to Adebayo in the corner for three!

Jones blows past Curry and lays it high up off the glass. 

Inbound to Adebayo in the corner and he strokes the three ball!

Curry to the line after a technical was called on the South Sudan bench, and he hits the FT. 

Kuol not shying away from the three ball and he drills it. The pace is starting to pick up on both ends. 

Haliburton was left all alone and he hits another three ball!

Jones with his first bucket of the game going right at LeBron for the lay up. 

Omot pulls up from the top of the key and drills the three ball. 

Tatum with the offensive board and he finds Haliburton for three on the wing!

Kuol pulls up from the FT line and he knocks it down. 

Timeout USA with 5:38 to go in the first half. 

Davis dominating down low and he gets a jump hook in traffic to fall. 

Another tough shot from Omot who was falling to the ground and hits the off balanced shot from outside the lane. 

LeBron fouled by Jones and he hits both FTs. He's got 10 points on the day. 

Tough shot from Omot on the baseline but he gets the fader to go. 

White was left open from downtown and he sinks the three ball from the wing. 

Jones finds Jok and he pulls up in stride and hits the three from the top of the key. 

Adebayo shielding off his defender and Edwards found him for the jam down low. 

Booker playing distributor again, and he finds KD this time for the three ball at the top of the key! That's 9 points for the top scorer in Olympic basketball history. 

TImeout South Sudan a minute into the 2nd quarter. 

Edwards finds Adebayo over the top and the big man rises high for the Big Bam!

We are at the end of the first quarter and Team USA pulled away from South Sudan, closing the quarter out on an 18-4 run. 

LeBron had 8, KD has 6 off the bench. 

Booker with a steal in the back court and he lays it off for Adebayo who lays it in after the mistake from South Sudan. 

Durant on the drive and dish and he finds White for the three on the wing!

Shayok drives left and floats one up off the glass and gets the roll. 

Durant picks off the pass in the open court and an unsportsmanlike foul on Thor is called after he fouled him with an open path to the bucket. Both FTs are good and USA will get the ball back. 

Edwards slithers his way to the bucket and gets the finger roll to fall. 

White to the line after the foul on Maluach and he hits one of two FTs. 

Jok follows up the missed three from Deng puts it back up and in. 

Durant got fouled by Thor on the three pointer and he goes to the line where he hits all three FTs. 

Durant to the line after the foul on Maluach and he hits one of two FTs. 

Curry finds Holiday at the elbow off the pick and roll and he hits the mid range jumper. 

LeBron catches it on the fly and fades away from outside the lane for the short jumper. 

Shayok from the top of the key and he drills the three ball! He had 6 against the US 10 days ago. 

Davis found LeBron sneaking down the baseline for the two handed jam. 

Shayok going right at the bucket after LeBron lost it on the other end. 

Omot from the corner with the shot clock winding down!

Kuol gets a step on LeBron, drives down the lane and throws it down with one hand!

Tatum drives down the lane and dumps it off for Davis who gently dunks it with two hands. Timeout South Sudan not even two minutes into this game. 

Booker scoops the loose ball, runs the break and lays it off for LeBron for the slam. 

LeBron gets fouled by Omot, and he gets the scoring going making one of two FTs. 

WE ARE UNDERWAY FROM LILLE!!!

USA Starters

It's Curry, Davis, Tatum, Booker and LeBron starting tonight in Lille. Tatum gets the start after not playing at all last game, and Davis is in the first five in place of Embiid who started against Serbia. 

The other game in the group

Serbia bounced back from their loss to Team USA with a resounding win over Puerto Rico earlier in the day. Seven different players had 10 points for the Serbians, led by Filip Petrusev who scored 15 points while Nikola Jokic flirted with a triple double in just 23 minutes. The Joker had 14, 15 rebounds and 9 assists in the 107-66 win to set up an interesting final match against South Sudan. 

Tonight's odds

It was only 10 days ago that this South Sudan team were within a basket of beating Team USA. The Team USA squad that banded together last year to restore the glory of American basketball among the turning of the tides in the NBA and at the international level. Germany won the World Cup last summer and that provoked LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant to head the Olympic squad that could be the best we have seen since the Dream Team, or better. Despite the cast of superheroes on the team, South Sudan and Germany almost beat them, but the odds makers believe it’s going to be Team USA running away with the game today in Lille. The spread is 29.5 and the Over/Under is 192.5. I’m not expert, but that’s a lot of points to give a team that was seconds away from beating Team USA. 

Star watch: South Sudan

There may not be a whole lot of names that you know on this South Sudan roster, but there is one you should get to know very quickly. Carlik Jones is the star of this squad and has made quite a name for himself over the last couple weeks. He was the top scorer in the game against Puerto Rico, and had a triple double against Team USA in the exhibition game a week and a half ago. Jones played at Louisville before going undrafted in the 2021 draft. He’s played a total of 12 NBA games with the Mavs, Nuggets and Bulls, spending most of his time in the G-League. He had his best year in the G-League two seasons ago when he was named MVP after leading the league in scoring at 26.1 points a game. He went to China to play with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls, and just signed with European giants Partizan for the upcoming season. 

Star Watch: USA

What we are witnessing from LeBron James is special. Sometime we take him for granted because he has been dominating the game for so long, but let’s try to remember that this is going to be his last Olympics and at 39 years old, he’s still the best player on the court. He was in the game against South Sudan when his team needed someone to step up and win the game. He did the same thing against Germany when his team needed him in crunch time. He was the best player on the court against Serbia, and there’s not doubt he’ll be the difference maker today if Team USA wins. It’s truly remarkable when you take into account the talent that surrounds him on this roster. Guys that are 10-15 years younger, in their prime and considered the future of the NBA sit back and marvel, just as we do, at LeBron’s greatness. 

Last game: South Sudan

The Olympic debutants came out slow against Puerto Rico in their opening game on Sunday afternoon in Paris. They started the game slow on the offensive end and allowed 28 points in the first quarter, but sorted their defense out, and as a result their offense started to pick up. As always Carlik Jones was at the forefront of everything good happening for the team making their first Olympic appearance. He had 19 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists against Puerto Rico in a game that South Sudan dominated the boards and shut their opponents down in the second half of action. After allowing 28 points in the first 10 minutes, South Sudan held Puerto Rico to just 25 points in the entire second half to clinch their first win in the Olympics for a country that was founded 13 years ago. 

Last game: Team USA

Team USA came into the Olympics facing plenty of uncertainty after not just one but two scares in their exhibition tour. The games against South Sudan and Germany proved that this team is not going to ease past the competition like Team USA did in 1992. Despite the close calls, USA faced one of the best teams in this tournament in their opening game and made light work of Serbia. Kevin Duran returned from a calf strain scorching after missing all of the exhibition games in the lead up to the Olympics. He was a perfect 8/8 from the field and scored 21 points in the first half. It was only a 2 point game with a couple minutes remaining in the first half but a 12-5 Team USA run would set the tone for the second half. LeBron James ended the game 21, 7 rebounds and 9 assists. 

We are live from Lille

Hello everyone and welcome to the Pierre Mauroy Stadum where Team USA looks to keep the train rolling against South Sudan just a week and a half after Steve Kerr’s were almost served up the biggest surprise in international basketball history. South Sudan came into their game against some of the most legendary players of this generation and went toe-to-toe with the Americans. The young African nation went up 16 in the second quarter, and almost held off the comeback from LeBron James and Team USA and even had a chance to win the game at the buzzer. They may not have won the game, but they proved that they can hang with a team many are comparing to the Dream Team of 1992. 

Team USA vs. South Sudan

Team USA took a big step in winning the group against Serbia in their Olympic opener on Sunday, and today they can almost guarantee the top stop in the table with a win over a South Sudan team that gave them quite a scare 10 days ago. We will see how LeBron James and the Americans adjust their game plan after nearly suffering a shocking upset against this young squad from a country that is only 13 years old. AS English will be with you all afternoon, providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of the second of three group stage games from Lille, France.