James hits game winner with 8 seconds left, US avoids upset and escapes South Sudan 101-100

LeBron James saved the U.S. from what would have been a stunning loss.

James’ layup with 8 seconds left was the go-ahead basket Saturday, and the U.S. Olympic team that'll soon head to the Paris Games escaped with a 101-100 win over South Sudan in London, rallying from a 16-point deficit to avoid perhaps the biggest upset in the program's history.

South Sudan, the African nation that gained its independence just 13 years ago and is about to play 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' runner off the glass missed with about 4 seconds left, and the Americans survived.

“I'm going to be honest: I like those better than the blowouts,” James said as he walked off the court. “At least we get tested.”

Oh, they got tested — by a team that came into the game as 43.5-point underdogs , according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

“A good reminder that when we play against teams, it's the biggest game of their lives,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said. “We have to expect everyone to play like that.”

Down by 16 at one point, the Americans dug out of that hole with an 18-0 run in the second half — then needed heroics at the end anyway. JT Thor’s 3-pointer with 20 seconds left gave South Sudan a 100-99 lead, then the Americans called timeout and put the ball in James’ hands.

He made it look easy: He waited, waited, waited, then drove and laid it in with ease to put the U.S. back on top, and the Americans got the stop they needed at the end.

James finished with a game-high 25 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the U.S., which improved to 4-0 with one game left — Monday vs. World Cup champion Germany — on its pre-Olympic exhibition tour. Anthony Davis added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Americans.

Marial Shayok had 24 points for South Sudan and Jones had a triple-double — 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

The teams will meet in group play in the Paris Olympics on July 31.

“It's basketball. It happens,” U.S. guard Stephen Curry said. “You want to play perfect every game; it doesn't happen. But can you dig deep and do the little things that help you win? Offense can come and go, but defense is the thing that helps you win championships, medals, all that stuff.”

It should have been a mismatch, and for the first half, it was — just not in the way anyone would have expected.

The U.S. roster has 12 players, all of them All-Stars or NBA champions or both, with a total of 189,038 points in their regular-season careers, with 7,832 combined starts. South Sudan has four players who have appeared in an NBA game. They’ve scored a combined 1,228 points and started 19 games.

Didn’t matter. It was 8-0 U.S. after 2 1/2 minutes. The rest of the half: South Sudan 58, U.S. 34. The Americans allowed South Sudan to shoot 61% in the first half and got outscored 21-3 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes.

“I did not do a great job preparing our team,” Kerr said. “We did not focus enough on what they're capable of, and that's on me. I think that really allowed South Sudan to gain confidence early. ... They were great. They played a wonderful game and the ending was good for us, just to feel that, to feel what it's going to be like in Paris and Lille.”

An 18-0 run in the second half — James involved in most of it — was what really saved the U.S., turning a 76-65 deficit into an 83-76 lead.

South Sudan led by 16 late in the first half — 58-42 — before the Americans got the last basket to cut the deficit to 14 at the break.

But the 18-0 run was key. James had four assists during the spurt and Curry, from about 35 feet, connected on a 3-pointer late in the third that gave the U.S. its first lead since the first quarter at 79-76.

Wenyen Gabriel banked in a 3-pointer to get South Sudan within 85-84, but James — his former teammate with the Los Angeles Lakers — connected on a 3 on the ensuing U.S. possession, and the Americans would eventually pull through by the slimmest of margins.

“Today we were able to represent our country with pride and we put up a good fight and showed the potential of our country,” Gabriel said. “I think it was a proud moment for a lot of people.”

Davis said the team got to the arena late, thrown off by standstill London traffic, and that routines going into the game were disrupted. Maybe so, but South Sudan showed the U.S. that nobody at the Olympics will concede anything to the four-time defending gold medalists.

“Doesn't matter when it comes to how close the game is,” James said. “We went out there to get better.”

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

United States' forward Anthony Davis, right, looks to pass the ball as South Sudan's forward Wenyen Gabriel defends during an exhibition basketball game between the United States and South Sudan, at the o2 Arena in London, Saturday, July 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

United States' guard Stephen Curry, centre, passes the ball as South Sudan's forward Majok Deng, right, and South Sudan's guard Marial Shayok defend during an exhibition basketball game between the United States and South Sudan, at the o2 Arena in London, Saturday, July 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

United States' forward LeBron James runs as he advances to score as South Sudan's center Khaman Maluach attempts to defend during an exhibition basketball game between the United States and South Sudan, at the o2 Arena in London, Saturday, July 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

United States' forward LeBron James scores as South Sudan's center Khaman Maluach attempted top defend during an exhibition basketball game between the United States and South Sudan, at the o2 Arena in London, Saturday, July 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

United States' forward LeBron James, left and United States' guard Stephen Curry shake hands during an exhibition basketball game between the United States and South Sudan, at the o2 Arena in London, Saturday, July 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

United States' forward LeBron James waves to the crowd after the end of an exhibition basketball game between the United States and South Sudan, at the o2 Arena in London, Saturday, July 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

United States' forward LeBron James bumps fists with teammates after the end of an exhibition basketball game between the United States and South Sudan, at the o2 Arena in London, Saturday, July 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

United States' forward Anthony Davis, center, reaches for the ball with South Sudan's guard Marial Shayok, right, as South Sudan's center Khaman Maluach follows the action during an exhibition basketball game between United States and South Sudan, at the o2 Arena in London, Saturday, July 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

United Staes' guard Anthony Edwards, left, defends against South Sudan's guard Carlik Jones during an exhibition basketball game between United Staes and South Sudan, at the o2Arena in London, Saturday, July 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

United States' forward LeBron James, left attempts to scores as South Sudan's forward Wenyen Gabriel tries to block during an exhibition basketball game between the United States and South Sudan, at the o2 Arena in London, Saturday, July 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

United States' guard Devin Booker, left, takes the ball forward as South Sudan's guard Marial Shayok follows during an exhibition basketball game between the United States and South Sudan, at the o2 Arena in London, Saturday, July 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

United States' center Joel Embiid, (11), attempts to score under pressure from South Sudan's guard Carlik Jones, (4), during an exhibition basketball game between the United States and South Sudan, at the o2 Arena in London, Saturday, July 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

United States' forward LeBron James attempts to score during an exhibition basketball game between the United States and South Sudan, at the o2 Arena in London, Saturday, July 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

United States' guard Anthony Edwards scores during an exhibition basketball game between the United States and South Sudan, at the o2 Arena in London, Saturday, July 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

United States' center Joel Embiid, right, looks to pass as South Sudan's center Khaman Maluach defends during an exhibition basketball game between the United States and South Sudan, at the o2 Arena in London, Saturday, July 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

United States' forward LeBron James, right, goes for the basket as South Sudan's forward JT Thor defends during an exhibition basketball game between the United States and South Sudan, at the o2 Arena in London, Saturday, July 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

United States' forward LeBron James, (6), reaches for the ball under pressure from South Sudan's forward Nuni Omot, right, South Sudan's forward JT Thor, (10), and South Sudan's guard Bul Kuol, left, during an exhibition basketball game between the United States and South Sudan, at the o2 Arena in London, Saturday, July 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Kamala Harris said Thursday that Israel's killing of Hamas' top leader offers "an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza," talking plainly about next steps even as the pro-Palestinian demonstrators who gathered outside her campaign event underscored the complicated politics at play.

The Democratic presidential nominee said the war “must end such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”

“It is time for the day after to begin,” she said, speaking from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee just moments after the White House released President Joe Biden's statement on the death of Yahya Sinwar. Israeli officials said Sinwar was killed in a battle with Israeli forces in Gaza.

The administration's response to the killing of a chief architect of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel was carefully choreographed, leaving room for Harris to emphasize the push to end the war as she balances her loyalty to Biden.

With the presidential race at razor-thin margins and the election just a few weeks away, the vice president is seeking to solidify support in battleground states and shore up left flank voters who want to see an immediate end to the bloody conflict, some of whom threaten not to vote for her.

The Biden administration’s support for Israel has complicated her campaign push in metro Detroit, especially in Dearborn, an area home to the nation’s largest Arab American community. The death earlier this month of a Dearborn resident killed in south Lebanon ignited more anger in the traditionally Democratic area.

Speaking Thursday in Flint, Michigan, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she was hopeful for an end to the violence.

“Have the hostages returned and have a solution for long-term peace in the region. That’s everything that I think is so important. And, you know, any chance that we can do that, I think would be welcomed by so many people,” she said.

At Harris' next stop in Wisconsin, at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, her remarks focused on Trump and his falsehoods around the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Trump is “increasingly unstable and unhinged, and will stop at nothing to claim unchecked power for himself," she said.

William Schauberger, a 24-year-old political science major, said ahead of Harris’ rally that he wasn’t optimistic about prospects for resolving the conflict in the Middle East regardless of the election results. He deemed the loss of life in Gaza “straight up genocide” and predicted “neither party will do anything about it.”

Harris has not proposed any policy shifts on Israel, and her remarks largely echoed Biden's statement. But she has, of late, faced increasing pressure to articulate how she would govern differently from Biden.

While Biden’s favorability ratings remain underwater, some of the biggest pieces of his legislative agenda, from infrastructure to lowering the costs of some prescription drugs, are popular, and signaling any daylight with the president on foreign policy at a time of global crises could be seen as reckless.

Biden's written statement on Sinwar's death — released as he was traveling to Germany for a visit with Chancellor Olaf Scholz — focused on how U.S. intelligence helped the Israelis pursue Hamas leadership and noted that Israel had every right to “eliminate the leadership and military structure of Hamas.”

“Today proves once again that no terrorists anywhere in the world can escape justice, no matter how long it takes,” Biden said.

He said he would speak with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “congratulate them, to discuss the pathway for bringing the hostages home to their families and for ending this war once and for all, which has caused so much devastation to innocent people.”

Karnowski reported from La Crosse, Wisconsin, and Long from Washington. Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Milwaukee and Todd Richmond in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Joey Cappelletti in Flint, Michigan, contributed to this report.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak at a campaign rally at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse, in La Crosse, Wis., Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak at a campaign rally at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse, in La Crosse, Wis., Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak at a campaign rally at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse, in La Crosse, Wis., Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse, in La Crosse, Wis., Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks about the killing of Hamas' top leader Yahya Sinwar in a battle with Israeli forces in Gaza, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, following a campaign rally at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks about the killing of Hamas' top leader Yahya Sinwar in a battle with Israeli forces in Gaza, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, following a campaign rally at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks about the killing of Hamas' top leader Yahya Sinwar in a battle with Israeli forces in Gaza, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, following a campaign rally at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)