Los Angeles Lakers All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis came to the rescue when USA Basketball fell into a 16-point hole midway through an unexpectedly chippy exhibition matchup against Team South Sudan on Saturday in London.
James put on a scoring clinic in the contest’s second half, including scoring this game-winning lefty layup on a drive with eight seconds remaining in regulation:
Open shot, the fate of the universe on the line, the Martians have the death beam pointed at earth, you better hit it.
🇺🇸 #USABMNT pic.twitter.com/5hgoQ8iAl4
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 20, 2024
All told, James scored 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field (7-of-10 from beyond the arc) and 3-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe, six rebounds and six assists.
Davis, meanwhile, helped lead a ferocious comeback in the third quarter, alongside fellow All-Defensive center Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat. The duo helped mitigate the worst impacts of ex-Lakers center Wenyen Gabriel and anticipated 2025 lottery pick Khaman Maluach, a 17-year-old poised to play at Duke next summer. Davis notched a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double, and continued to make a pretty clear case that he deserves to start at center over Joel Embiid, who once again looked horrific defensively, though he had a decent scoring night, notching 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor and 4-of-6 shooting from the charity stripe, aong with seven rebounds and three assists.
Next up for Team USA is a bout with Team Germany, the program’s final warm-up game, slated for Monday.
Paris is right around the corner. After barely surviving South Sudan to win 101-100 at the last possible second, will Team USA possibly be ready?