A pair of Team USA exhibition games seemed to rise to the level of startling significance on Saturday. Only by LeBron James' layup with 8 seconds left did the men's team top South Sudan in London, the AP reports, and avoid what might have ranked as the program's biggest upset loss ever. In Phoenix, the women's team lost more decisively to WNBA All-Stars, who included Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese playing on the same team for the first time. The coaches of both American teams acknowledged work to do before they compete in the Paris Olympics.
- In London: The men's team came back from a 16-point deficit, going on an 18-0 run in the second half, to win 101-100. "I like those better than the blowouts," James said after the buzzer sounded. "At least we get tested." The rosters would seem a mismatch: The 12 US players are All-Stars or NBA champions or both, with a total of 189,038 regular-season points, per the AP. South Sudan has four players who have appeared in an NBA game, scoring a combined 1,228 points, and is going to the Olympics for the first time. In fact, South Sudan has only been an independent nation for 13 years. "I did not do a great job preparing our team," US coach Steve Kerr said.
- In Phoenix: Team USA took its 117-109 loss as a lesson. "This is going to help us tremendously. We don't get that many game opportunities," said Breanna Stewart, who had 31 points. Her team had only held two practices before this and at no point threatened the WNBA team, per the AP. Clark finished with 10 assists, and Reese had 12 points and 11 rebounds. "We have work to do and we know that," said US coach Cheryl Reeve. "Sometimes it's good, adversity, etc. I don't think we needed a game like this to have our attention."
The women have an exhibition game against Germany in London on Tuesday. The men are to play Serbia next Sunday, per
CNN, and will face South Sudan again in Olympics group play on July 31. (More
Team USA stories.)
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