World News LeBron game-winner avoids South Sudan pre-Games upset Blog

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LeBron James saved the USA from a defeat that would have come as a surprise.

His layup with eight seconds left lifted the U.S. Olympic team, soon to head to the Paris Olympics, to a 101-100 win over South Sudan in London, overcoming a 16-point deficit and avoiding perhaps the biggest upset in the team's history.

The African country, which gained independence just 13 years ago and is now participating in the Olympics for the first time, led for more than half the game and had a chance to win at the end. But Carlik Jones' layup missed the target and the Americans survived.

“I'll be honest: I like these better than the blowouts,” James said as he left the field.

“At least we are being tested.”

The Americans fought their way out of that hole with an 18-0 run in the second half – and had to pull off some heroics at the end. JT Thor's three-pointer with 20 seconds left put South Sudan ahead 100-99, then the Americans called a timeout and put the ball in James' hands.

He made it look easy: He waited, waited, waited, then he drove and took off with ease to put the U.S. back in front, and the Americans finally got the stop they needed.

“A good reminder that this is the biggest game of our teams’ lives,” said US coach Steve Kerr.

“We have to expect everyone to play like that.”

James finished the game with 25 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the U.S. team, which improved its record to 4-0 with one game left on its pre-Olympic exhibition tour – against world champions Germany.

Anthony Davis contributed 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Marial Shayok scored 24 points for South Sudan and Jones recorded a triple-double (15 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists).

The teams will meet in a group match at the Olympic Games in Paris on July 31.

“You want to play perfectly in every game, but that doesn’t happen,” said US guard Stephen Curry.

“But can you dig deep and do the little things that help you win? Offense may come and go, but defense is what helps you win championships, medals and all that stuff.”

The U.S. team's roster includes 12 players, all All-Stars or NBA champions or both, who scored a total of 189,038 points in their regular season and started 7,832 games. South Sudan has four players who have appeared in an NBA game.

“Today we were able to represent our country with pride, we fought bravely and showed the potential of our country,” said Wenyen Gabriel.

“I think that was a proud moment for many people.”

Davis said the U.S. team arrived late at the arena due to congested London traffic and pre-game routines were disrupted. That may be true, but South Sudan showed that no one is going to concede anything to the four-time defending champions at the Olympics.

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