US tops South Sudan 103-86 at Paris Olympics, earns spot in men's basketball quarterfinals

VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France (AP) — In the rematch, the U.S. had an easier time with South Sudan than it did when the teams first met a couple of weeks ago.

Easier. Not easy.

The U.S. clinched a trip to the quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics by beating South Sudan 103-86 on Wednesday night — a game that wasn't ever really in doubt but was no romp either. Bam Adebayo scored 18 points and Kevin Durant had 14 for the Americans, who took control with a 25-4 run in the first half.

And led by Adebayo, the U.S. reserves scored 66 points.

“We've been calling ourselves the bench mob for a long time now,” Adebayo said. “And it doesn't matter who's in the lineup. We always seem to figure it out.”

Anthony Edwards scored 13 and LeBron James added 12 for the U.S. Nuni Omot led South Sudan with 21 points, while Carlik Jones scored 18 and Bul Kuol added 16.

The win locked up a knockout-round berth and the No. 1 seed out of Group C for the U.S., which joined Canada, France and Germany in the quarterfinals. There are seven teams still alive for the other four quarterfinal spots; only Puerto Rico, which faces the Americans on Saturday, has been eliminated from contention to advance.

That said, Saturday’s game — the first between Puerto Rico and the U.S. at the Olympics since an embarrassing 92-73 loss in Athens 20 years ago — isn’t meaningless for the U.S. A 3-0 record in group play would give the Americans their best chance at a top-two seed for the knockout round and, in theory, an easier matchup in the quarterfinals.

“It's not the goal," U.S. forward Anthony Davis said of making the quarterfinals. “It does give us a sense of satisfaction as far as being able to play next week. But there’s a lot that we can get better at, a lot that we can clean up, and we'll use Saturday’s game against Puerto Rico to tighten the screws again and then just see where it takes us from there.”

South Sudan finishes group play against Serbia on Saturday, a game that has knockout-stage implications for both teams. The draw for the quarterfinals will be held Saturday night, and all four quarterfinal games will be played Tuesday in Paris.

“We knew this wasn't going to be an easy task,” Jones said. “Our spirits are still positive.”

South Sudan coach Royal Ivey likened his life to a movie after his team won its Olympic opener over Puerto Rico, and understandably so. The story of his team — from the youngest country in the world, a group that overcame absurd odds just to get to the Paris Games — is a quintessential Olympic one, one that will be talked about for years whether the African nation wins another game in France or not.

That said, if nearly beating the Americans in London on July 20 in an exhibition — the 101-100 game where James had to bail out the U.S. at the end — was a movie, then this was the sequel.

In the movie world, sequels often aren’t as good as the originals. Such was the case Wednesday.

The first few minutes after the opening credits weren’t bad — South Sudan led 7-6 and 10-8 — but the plot quickly got predictable. Durant made a 3-pointer with about a minute to go in the opening quarter for the first double-digit lead, Adebayo scored inside with 8:42 left in the half to cap what was a 25-4 run, the Americans had a 33-14 lead and there wasn’t a ton of drama the rest of the way.

“They're a talented team,” U.S. guard Stephen Curry said. “On any given night, they can beat anybody.”

South Sudan cut the lead to 10 in the third, but the U.S. took a 73-57 edge into the final 10 minutes.

Most of the drama, such as it was, happened pregame anyway. U.S. coach Steve Kerr changed his starting lineup, putting Davis and Jayson Tatum in and taking Jrue Holiday and Joel Embiid out. Embiid didn't play at all, while Tyrese Haliburton got his first playing time of the Olympics as the U.S. went to an 11-man rotation for the first half and took a 55-36 lead into the break.

South Sudan outscored the U.S. by two in the second half, but that hardly mattered in the end.

“We’ve got 12 guys who are all capable of dominating," Kerr said. "Every night is going to be a little different. But we like our chances with the number of great players we have on our roster.”

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

United States fans cheer before the start a men's basketball gamebetween the United States South Sudan at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Jayson Tatum, of the United States, grabs a rebound against South Sudan at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (Brian Snyder/Pool Photo via AP)

Filemaker Spike Lee is interviewed before a game between the United States and South Sudan in a men's basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Bam Adebayo, of the United States, get a basket over Wenyen Gabriel, of South Sudan, in a men's basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

United States fans cheer before the start a men's basketball gamebetween the United States South Sudan at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Bam Adebayo, of the United States, reacts after a dunk over Wenyen Gabriel, of South Sudan, in a men's basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Anthony Davis, of the United States, shoots over Carlik Jones, of South Sudan, in a men's basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, Pool)

Jayson Tatum, of the United States, gets a dunk over Carlik Jones, of South Sudan, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (Brian Snyder/Pool Photo via AP)

Jayson Tatum, of the United States, gets a basket on a dunk against South Sudan in a men's basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, Pool)

Stephen Curry, of the United States, fools Marial Shayok, of South Sudan, in a men's basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Nuni Omot, of South Sudan, defends LeBron James, of the United States, in a men's basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

in a men's basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Carlik Jones, of South Sudan, shoots between Derrick White, (8) and Jayson Tatum, of the United States, in a men's basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Bam Adebayo, of the United States, puts in a basket in front of Peter Jok, of South Sudan, in a men's basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, Pool)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Houston Texans invested heavily in the offseason in giving C.J. Stroud some additional scoring options.

It’s already paying big dividends.

Stefon Diggs caught two touchdown passes and Joe Mixon ran for 159 yards and another score in their Houston debuts to help the Texans close out a 29-27 victory against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

“It's everything for us,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said of his new tag-team tandem. “Those guys go out and make plays no matter what the situation is, like when you can count on those guys to make plays it's huge for our team, not just our offense but what they did for an entire team, providing the energy they did for our team, it's outstanding."

In some ways, it was more of the same for Houston (1-0).

C.J. Stroud was 24 of 32 with 234 yards and no turnovers as the defending AFC South champs won their ninth consecutive road game in division play — inside the same venue they clinched a playoff spot in Week 18 last season.

Still, Mixon, who was acquired in a trade from Cincinnati, and Diggs, who was acquired in a trade with Buffalo, gave Houston a more potent look.

Diggs caught six passes for 33 yards with two touchdowns — a 9-yard score to give Houston a 12-7 lead it never surrendered and a 2-yard TD reception on fourth-and-goal to essentially seal the victory with 4:42 to play.

Mixon carried a career-high 30 times, finished with his highest single-game rushing total since gaining a career-best 165 yards against Pittsburgh in November 2021 and scored on a 3-yard run early in the fourth quarter on the first play after a holding penalty erased a Colts interception.

“I’m just finally getting tapped into the player I know I am,” Mixon said. “The guys are encouraging me to make sure this thing is still up and going. I’m just glad I’m one of the forefront persons to really set the tone and let people know what it is like playing us.”

For the Colts (0-1), it was an all-too-familiar script.

They extended the NFL’s longest active opening day winless drought, three of the past four coming against division teams including a 20-20 tie at Houston in 2022.

And even though Anthony Richardson gave them a chance with two TD passes of more than 50 yards and a powerful 3-yard TD run with 2:14 to play, Indy’s weary defense couldn’t get the ball back to Richardson.

Houston's offense had the ball for 40 minutes.

“It’s going to be like this a lot, you know, there’s going to be a lot of one-score games,” Colts coach Shane Steichen said. “We’ve got to find ways at the end, offensively and defensively, to make the plays in critical situations.”

But Mixon, Diggs, Stroud and Nico Collins simply wouldn’t allow it.

Collins had his third consecutive big game against the Colts, catching six passes for 117 yards including a 55-yarder that set up Diggs’ first score and Ka’imi Fairbairn made three field goals from 50 or more yards.

It was simply too much for the Colts, who took a 7-3 lead when Richardson and Alec Pierce hooked up on a 60-yard TD pass in the first quarter.

Diggs’ first score made it 12-7 and when Fairbairn started the second half with another field goal, the Texans' lead expanded to 15-7.

The Colts capitalized on a blocked punt with Jonathan Taylor’s 5-yard TD run, but a failed 2-point conversion left Indy in a 15-13 deficit.

Mixon responded with his TD run and after Richardson found Ashton Dulin on a 54-yard score, Diggs extended the lead to 29-20 with less than five minutes to play.

Richardson was 9 of 19 with 212 yards and one interception and ran six times for 56 yards. Taylor rushed 16 times for 48 yards and Pierce finished with three catches for 125 yards as the Colts came up short again.

Houston won despite an unusual finish to the first half, which may have cost it at least three points with officials stopping the clock to review Dalton Schultz's 7-yard reception after a spike.

When referee John Hussey announced it was a catch and the clock would be reset to 15 seconds, Steichen called a timeout. Before play resumed, Hussey “apologized for the confusion,” rescinded the timeout and enforced a 10-second runoff for the review to reset the clock at 5 seconds while starting it on his signal. But with the offense still on the field, Houston didn't get the ball snapped before time expired.

“It's on us on the sideline,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We've got to be better.”

Indianapolis installed new turf during the offseason and both teams struggled to stay upright. Stroud slipped on two consecutive plays on the Texans first series and when Colts rookie Adonai Mitchell slipped on a screen pass in the first half, it messed up the timing. And Kylen Granson's bad footing led to Calen Bullock's interception at the Texans 8-yard line late in the first half.

Texans: Host Chicago next Sunday night.

Colts: Visit Green Bay next Sunday.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce (31) is tackled by Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin (44) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (28) runs against Indianapolis Colts safety Nick Cross (20) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) loses his helmet as he is sacked by Houston Texans defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. (97) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) is sacked by Houston Texans defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. (97) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Houston Texans wide receiver Stefon Diggs (1) dives to the end zone against Indianapolis Colts safety Nick Cross (20) for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) is tackled by Houston Texans safety Jalen Pitre (5) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) runs during the first half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) looks for a receiver during the first half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. (11) ts tackled by Houston Texans safety Jimmie Ward during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) looks for a receiver during the first half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indianapolis Colts safety Julian Blackmon (32) tackles Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (28) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) loses his helmet as he is sacked by Houston Texans defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. (97) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (28) runs to the end zone for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Houston Texans wide receiver Stefon Diggs (1) makes touchdown reception during the second half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)