With Kevin Durant warming up but still unavailable, Devin Booker takes Jayson Tatum's place in Steve Kerr's starting five. That doesn't change much in the starters' lack of tempo.
And the problem is that the United States is extremely disturbed by the pace and intensity of South Sudan. Carlik Jones seems unstoppable and Marial Shayok is making three-pointers while Bam Adebayo is getting three fouls in a few minutes and the entire American team is generally confused…
The crazy Sudanese address
Team USA tries to rely on the power of Joel Embiid to come back but, at halftime, South Sudan leads by 14 points (58-44), with incredible accuracy (15/21 shooting including 7/14 from afar) while the United States are on their side at a sad 1/12 behind the 3-point line.
Steve Kerr starts the second half with his substitutes, in order to respond to the Sudanese energy, and it works as South Sudan, undoubtedly over-revving in the first half, falls into line.
The return of the starters does not break the American momentum, with LeBron James clearly not wanting to lose this match. Stephen Curry finally finds the target from afar, including a shot from the logo, and the United States seem to have put things back in place after three quarters (81-76), having won the period 37 to 18!
But Carlik Jones and South Sudan are not giving up, on the contrary, attacking the US defense as quickly as possible, taking advantage of surprising openings in the central axis.
LeBron James as savior
Enough to stay in touch until the end, behind Carlik Jones' triple-double, then to even regain the advantage behind a 3-pointer from JT Thor (100-99) with 20 seconds left in the game!
After Steve Kerr's timeout, LeBron James responds by going it alone, to finish with a layup. There are 8 seconds left on the clock and it is logically Carlik Jones who has the last shot. It is missed but Wenyen Gabriel recovers the offensive rebound… except that he does not manage to put the ball back in the circle. The United States had a very, very close call, but the United States finally wins (101-100) at the end of the suspense.
Disturbed by the style of South Sudan, Team USA has left aside a lot of concepts put in place during the last matches, especially trying not to lose. Last preparation match for LeBron James and company Monday evening, still in London. It will be against Germany, before heading to France.
