USA 101 - 100 South Sudan summary, scores, stats and highlights | USA Basketball Showcase

With all these stars on one team, there could be a question on who is going to take the last shot. When you have LeBron James on your team, he's always going to be the first option, and Steve Kerr put the ball in his hands with the game on the line. As always LeBron delivered. 

JT Thor came up with maybe the biggest shot of his career jacking a three ball in the face of LeBron to take the lead 100-99 with 20 seconds to go. They may not have won the game, but hopefully he has that picture framed and hangs it on his wall for all of eternity.

While we are talking a lot about Team USA, who eventually got the victory, Carlik Jones was the man of the night. He registered a triple-double against what many think is one of the best teams ever assembled. He had 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists and was the center piece for South Sudan on a historic night from London. 

When Steph Curry is making these kind of shots, the other team has to know they are in trouble. He may not have lit it up like he did against Serbia, but He ended the game with 10 points, many of which came in the first half. This was obviously his highlight of the night, draining a deep three from the logo. 

This play changed the game. Jrue Holiday was brought on to the team exactly for his reason. This hustle play to save possession and then to find LeBron who took it for a slam and foul turned the tides as Team USA took the lead thanks a 16-0 run to end the third quarter. 

LeBron led the charge at the end of the third quarter, taking the team on his shoulders and carrying them to the finish line. 

Nuni Omot and South Sudan were not intimidated in the slightest and at times bullied Team USA with their physicality and strength. They were relentless on the boards, and suffocating on defense. Team USA went down by almost 20 points in the third quarter, but they saved their best for last. 

Marial Shayok is making a name for himself in this exhibition tour for South Sudan. He had 27 against UK on Thursday, and dropped 25 against Team USA. He was 6/12 from downtown and set the tone for a team that went 14/33 from downtown. 

South Sudan went up by double digits in the second quarter and held that cushion until the end of the third quarter, but you had the sense that Team USA had plenty more in the tank. It would be a matter of how long South Sudan could hold on. 

There wasn't much going for Team USA at the end of the first quarter and into the second, but Anthony Edwards tried to provide a spark off the bench. He had another double digit game, scoring 11 points in the win but wasn't as big of a factor for much of the second half as the US needed a comeback and relied on their most veteran players. 

Kahman Maluach and South Sudan were fearless against LeBron James and the rest of the superhero squad that surrounds him on Team USA. They took the lead in the first quarter and held it for the next 23 minutes. 

It looked like it was going to be a blow out early on as the US came out running all over the South Sudan, but the huge underdogs withstood the early blow and went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams ever assembled. 

The USA Basketball team struggled to fend off the youngest team in FIBA, needing a late game bucket from LeBron James to beat South Sudan in London. LeBron led his team with 23 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds. 

Team USA came out swinging thanks to a couple early dunks from LeBron and Steph Curry's smooth stroke, but that didn't scare South Sudan in the slightest. 

IT'S ALL OVER FROM LONDON!!! TEAM USA SURVIVE AND REMAIN UNDEFEATED, BUT SOUTH SUDAN WAS THE STORY OF THE NIGHT AND OF THE PRE OLYMPIC EXHIBITIONS!!!

Jones had a look on the leaner from outside the lane, and Gabriel had a chance to put the offensive rebound back but the USA survive a scare!!!

LeBron off the dribble and he takes the defender to the rack and finishes off the glass with the left hand!

Timeout South Sudan with 8 seconds to go!

TIMEOUT USA!!! WITH 20.0 TO GO!!!

Thor pulls up from the corner and drills it in the face of LeBron to take the lead with 20 seconds to go!

THIS TEAM IS FEARLESS!!!

40 seconds to go!

Shayok on the offensive rebound and he hits the leaner from the elbow!

1:30 to go in the 4th quarter!

Shayok with a quick trigger three ball on the break and he drills it! That's 23 for the sharp shooter from South Sudan!

Davis misses the FT out of the break. 

Extra pass from White to Davis and he gets the lay up to go and the foul! He'll go to the line after the timeout with 2:54 to go. 

Under 3:00 to go from London. 

Lob on the inbound from White to Tatum and he slams it home with two hands. 

Jones splits a double team and hangs it high off the glass with a floater. Under 4:00 to go. 

Tatum dribbles into traffic and he finishes off the reverse going from right to left. 

White over the top to Davis and he slams home the alley oop!

Jones puts Edwards on his back and lays it up and in off the leaner. 

Pull up from Jok at the top of the key and that goes for South Sudan. 

Davis to the line after the foul on Gabriel and he hits one of two FTs. 

LeBRon running the break and he goes straight to the bucket for the lay up in transition! 

Timeout South Sudan with 6:49 to go and they are just trying to stay in this game after Team USA took control of this match up in the second half. 

LeBron steps into a three ball and finally those are falling for Team USA!

Gabriel with back to back buckets, this time from outside! He's got three of those today!

Gabriel with the follow off the miss from Jones. 

Embiid spots up from the FT line and he drills it. 

Jok on the three ball off another assist from Jones!

Embiid with a lay up down low off the dish from LeBron. 

LeBron running the break and dumps it off for Embiid who jams it home and he beats the third quarter buzzer!

The US turned the tables with a 37 point quarter on South Sudan in that quarter and now control the game heading into the final 10 minutes. 

Booker finally appears and just in time to tie the game up with a three ball off the LeBron feed!

Hoilday on the step back at the top of the key and he hits the deep two!

Curry running around the perimeter and he gets a pocket of space for the three ball on the wing!

Thor to the line after the foul on Holiday and he hits both FTs. 

Thor going to the rack and he gets the bucket to go and the foul on Embiid! FT is god. 

LeBron finds Holiday cutting to the rim and he lays it up and in. 

James with a three ball of the kick out from Embiid and he drills it!

Offensive rebound from Jones and he kicks it out for Shayok and he drills the three ball from the top of the key! He's got 20 points on the day!

Shayok steps into a three off the pass on the break from Jones and he drills it!

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

Malauch with another three ball from the wing, and if South Sudan are going to win this game they are going to need to see a few more of those go down in the second half. 

Adebayo to the line and he hits both FTs. 

Jones sends Adebayo to the line and that's where he'll be after the timeout with 6:15 to go in the third quarter. 

Davis spins on the block and gets the mini fade away to drop in the lane. 

Edwards in the corner and he strokes the three ball off the dish from White. 

Inbound underneath from Jones and Kuol lays it up and in. 

Davis sent to the line by Gabriel and he hits both FTs. 

Shayok missed the three ball but Omot comes crashing in and tip slams it over Davis!

Tatum with the drive, lay up and the foul! FT is good after the foul on Omot. 

Davis on the follow up and tip back off the Edwards miss. 

WE ARE BACK IN PLAY FROM LONDON FOR THE SECOND HALF OF ACTION. 

Let's look for a big response from Team USA in the second half. They have been sliced up by Jones and Shayok, who have 9 and 14 respectively. James has 12, Edwards has 8 and Curry has 6 to lead the Americans. 

The USA hasn't played this kind of defense much this game. But ANT came off the bench and tried to bring some energy on that end of the court. 

Maluach, Deng and the rest of South Sudan have been running the floor and been unafraid of Team USA. They went on a run midway through the first quarter and they haven't slowed down since then. Maluach has four points, Thor Gabriel and Deng have 6 a piece. 

South Sudan was a little slow getting back in transition early on, but they made some tweaks and that allowed them to come back in this game. 

LeBron and Team USA came out swinging in the opening minutes. He had a couple dunks to set the tone but that didn't intimidate the South Sudan players in the slightest. 

LeBron bullies his way to the bucket and hits the reverse lay up in traffic and gets the foul! FT is no good. 

Thor to the line after the foul on Booker and he hits both FTs. The lead is up to 16, the largest of the night 

Thor pulls up on the baseline and hits the jumper over Davis. 

James to the line and he hits both FTs after the foul on Thor. 

Jones puts James on his back and stretches for the left handed lay up off the glass. 

Edwards slashes to the rack and he slams it home after the dish from Davis. 

Kickout from Jones to Shayok and he drills the three on the wing out of the timeout. 

Booker picks off the pass by Deng and he finds Holiday on the break for the lay up in transition. 

TImeout South Sudan with 2:13 to go in the 1st half. 

LeBron with a strong drive on the baseline and he lays it up and in. 

Shayok was draped by a defender on the baseline, jacked up a rainbow and hit a miracle shot!

Jones drive to the bucket and dumps it off for Deng who gets the roll with the lay up. 

Curry to the line and he hits one of two FTs after the foul on Makoi. 

Embiid to the line after the foul on Maluach and he hits both FTs this time. 

Spot up from Maluach and he hits the deep two over Embiid. 

The USA win the challenge and Embiid ended up getting fouled by Deng. He hits one of two FTs at the line. 

We have a challenge by USA after an out of bounds was ruled for South Sudan. 

Embiid spots up from the FT line and hits the mid range jumper. 

Jones taking Booker off the dribble, got fouled and hits the fade away off the glass. FT is good. 

Jones with the strip on Holiday and he finds Shayok with the easy lay up on the other end. 

Kyol fouled by Embiid and he goes to the line where he hits one of two FTs. 

Thor to the line after the foul by Adebayor and he hits one of two FTs. 

Jones with the finger roll over Davis and he gets the friendly roll. 

Tatum fouled on the drive by Kuol and he hits both FTs. 

Edwards crosses over on the drive and finishes in traffic. 

Jones pulls up from the elbow and drills it in the face of Adebayo. 

Shayok was left open on the perimeter and he drills the three ball from the wing to start the second quarter!

LeBron got started with a couple of easy dunks, but South Sudan absorbed the initial blow and took the lead. 

WE ARE AT THE END OF THE FIRST QUARTER AND TEAM USA ARE DOWN BY TWO POINTS!!!

LeBron and Steph came out swinging but South Sudan saw a couple of Garbriel threes go down and that inspired them to take the lead. Gabriel has 6 while Shayok, Omot and Deng have 4 a piece. 

Deng going into traffic off the dribble and he hits the floater off the glass from outside the lane. 

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

Thor to the line after the foul on Adebayo and he hits one of two FTs. 

Edwards strips Makoi in the back court and lays it up and in. 

Davis fouled on the jumper by Maluach and he hits botho FTs. 

Jok jacks the three ball after the kick out from Makoi and he drills it!

Makoi drives through the lane and finishes with the left handed finger roll. 

Davis strips Malauch and finds Adebayo wide open on the break for the slam. 

South Sudan running the break and Thor hits Malauch streaking down the lane for the two handed slam! 

Timeout USA after a 13-3 run from South Sudan. 

Deng on the second effort after missing his corner three off the backboard, and he lays it up and gets fouled by Davis. FT is good and it's all tied up. 

Shayok missed the three ball but Kuol was there for the offensive rebound and he dumped it off for Omot for the put back slam. 

Curry moving off the bal and he hits a deep three from the wing. 

Shayok drills a three ball and we said it in the pregame. Watch out if this team starts to hit their threes. They look like they got through those early game jitters and have settled down. 

Gabriel with another three ball, this time from the top of the key and Embiid has been a little slow getting out of him. 

Embiid to the line after the foul on Gabriel and he hits one of two FTs. 

Gabriel showing he can stretch the floor with a three ball from the wing. 

Booker missed the runner but Embiid was there for the tap in in traffic. 

Long rebound off the missed three from Kuol and LeBron broke to the bucket for the long outlet pass and one handed slam! Team USA are flying out of the gate. 

Omot with a fadeaway from outside the paint and finally South Sudan are on the board. 

LeBron gets the offensive board and the put back off his own missed lay up. 

Holiday puts it on the deck and he goes right to the rack for the lay up off the glass down the lane. 

Curry with the rebound and he looks up to Booker who got behind the defense for the lay up in transition. 

LeBron cuts off the ball and Embiid found him for the big two handed slam to get the day started. 

WE ARE UNDERWAY FROM LONDON!

OLYMPIC GAMES | BASKETBALL

Why isn’t Bol Bol playing for South Sudan in the USA Basketball Showcase?

If you were hoping to see South Sudan's biggest and tallest star today you're out of luck. Our Roddy Cons has more. 

South Sudan Starting five 

We don't know a whole lot about this South Sudan team but we are about to get to know them. It's the two back court studs Jones and Shayok leading a first five with Nuni Omot, Wenyen Gabriel who you may remember from the Pelicans or Lakers and Bul Kuol. 

USA Starting five

For the first time in this USA Basketball Showcase, Devin Booker gets the start with LeBron, Steph and Joel Embiid. Embiid has been featured as a starter, but Davis has outplayed him so far. We have seen Holiday in the starting five, and you have to chalk that up to his defense. Tatum and Edwards start on the bench while Curry, LeBron, Holiday, James and Embiid in the first five for Steve Kerr. 

Team USA up close and personal

A lot of world wide fans who watch NBA games on a regular basis are used to seeing the world's best players on TV, but this tour allows fans to get up close and personal with their basketball heroes and watch their pregame warm ups which are often as spectacular as the actual game. 

KD back for USA?

One of the stories of this pre Olympic tour has been Kevin Durant, or the absence of Kevin Durant for Steve Kerr’s side. He is a three time Olympian and gold medalist and will provide invaluable experience on the court should he be fit for action. KD just joined the rest of his teammates for his first practice with the team yesterday. He had a calf strain that kept him out for the first few weeks of camp and the opening three exhibitions. He was listed as questionable for today’s game and obviously Steve Kerr is going to proceed with caution, but he also wants to get KD some court time with the rest of his teammates as he evaluates who he wants on the court and when he wants them on the court. 

Star watch: South Sudan

South Sudan have a marvelous one two punch of Marial Shayok and Carlik Jones. Shayok is the shot taker and shot maker on this team. He played at Virginia and then Iowa State before spending time in the G-League out of college. Shayok played in Turkey at Fenerbahce and is now playing in China for the Shandong Hi-Speed Kirin. Jones just signed with European giants Partizan, but before that he went to college at Louisville and then spent time in the G League before playing in China last year. The point guard was a rebound away from a triple double against the Philippines in the World Cup last summer, which would have made him one of four players to have ever done so, along with Alexander Beloved’s, LeBron James and Luka Doncic. They may not be the biggest stars at this year’s Olympics, but this team plays unafraid, and if their three pointers start falling, watch out. 

Star watch: USA

Last game it was Steph Curry who we highlighted in this star watch section after he had just 3 points on 1/6 shooting from the field against Australia. He went wild in the next game, so let’s try to put some of that good juju on Joel Embiid. He has been the most disappointing of the players on the team so far. The injury that kept him out of the second half of the regular season and limited him in the playoffs still might be a factor, and could be a reason he has hasn’t looked his best. He’s still getting over 7 ppg and 6 rpg which isn’t bad in the limited time he’s played but we have come to expect more from the NBA MVP of two seasons ago. 

Last game: South Sudan

South Sudan has been in London just a bit longer than Team USA, and already took on the host nation Great Britain on Thursday. That was a close contest that they narrowly won thanks to a heroic performance from Marial Shayok. Shayok had 27 points in the win, and had the decisive block late in the game after Great Britain made a comeback attempt in the fourth quarter. 

Last game: USA 

On paper it was supposed to be one of the toughest tests for the Americans of this USA Basketball Showcase. Nikola Jokic and the Serbians are one of the teams expected to be able to compete with USA during this year’s Olympic Games, but there was no competition on Wednesday from Abu Dhabi. Steph Curry went wild, scoring Team USA’s first nine points of the game on his way to 24 points on 8/13 shooting. The Serbians kept it close in the first quarter, but the USA was too big, too strong and too fast for Jokic’s side and they ran away with a 105-79 win. Bam Adebayo chipped in 17 and 8 while Anthony Edwards had another solid performance with 16 points. 

We are live from London

Hello everyone and welcome to the O2 from London where Team USA comes into today with a perfect record in their pre Olympic tour around the world. They are in London for the first of two final exhibitions as they continue to maximize this supremely talented side before Opening Ceremonies. Steve Kerr has one of the best teams ever assembled and they looked like they finally started to hit stride against Serbia in their third of five exhibition games earlier this week. South Sudan maybe one of the least known teams in the competition, but they are looking pull a surprise tonight, and more importantly in group stages. They will get no better barometer than the game today against Team USA. 

USA vs. South Sudan live

The USA Basketball Showcase touches down in London for the final stop before heading to Paris for the Opening Ceremonies next week. Today, we get the first of two games from the UK as Team USA takes on a South Sudan side they will see in group stages of the Olympics. Today’s game will be another warm up, and another chance for head coach Steve Kerr to experiment with his squad before the opening game against Serbia next Sunday. It’s USA vs. South Sudan and AS English will be with you all night providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of today’s game from O2 Arena.