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The United States came from 16 points down to avoid one of the biggest shocks in basketball history in a dramatic 101-100 victory over South Sudan in London.<\/b><\/p>\n
South Sudan led 58-42 in the second quarter before taking a 14-point lead into the break in an Olympics warm-up game at the O2 Arena.<\/p>\n
The USA went on a 16-0 run to end the third quarter with a five-point lead but South Sudan battled back to go one point ahead with 20 seconds remaining.<\/p>\n
LeBron James hit a crucial lay-up to put his side ahead by one point with eight seconds to go, and South Sudan could not hit a late winner.<\/p>\n
The USA are targeting a fifth consecutive men’s basketball gold medal at this summer’s Olympics in Paris, while South Sudan, ranked 33rd in the world, will play in their first Games.<\/p>\n
The 12-man USA roster is filled with some of the NBA’s greatest talents, while only four of the South Sudan team have played an NBA game.<\/p>\n
But they outplayed the world number one side in the first half, hitting 61% of their shots, while the USA only made one three-pointer.<\/p>\n
Marial Shayok scored a game-high 25 points for South Sudan and Charlotte Hornets forward JT Thor hit a three-pointer to put his side 100-99 ahead late on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n