After narrowly escaping with a one-point victory over South Sudan in an exhibition earlier this month, Team USA had a much smoother time on Wednesday.
The U.S. cruised to a 103-86 win, improving to 2-0 in group play, while South Sudan dropped to 1-1.
Team USA led for most of the game. Following a brief exchange of leads early on, they took control with just under four minutes remaining in the first quarter and maintained that advantage throughout.
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Bam Adebayo shone as the standout player. Coming off the bench, he scored 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including two three-pointers, and contributed seven rebounds and two blocks. The victory was a team effort, with five other players also scoring in double figures.
It was a little bit of a different look for the U.S. compared with its opener against Serbia. In that game, Joel Embiid started at center, while Jayson Tatum notably never made it on the court. Against South Sudan, coach Steve Kerr started Anthony Davis in place of Embiid and Tatum in place of Jrue Holiday.
Embiid didn’t play at all, while Holiday was part of the bench group that included Adebayo, Kevin Durant, Derrick White and Anthony Edwards. Tyrese Haliburton also saw his first action of the Olympics, meaning 11 players earned minutes Wednesday
