Chris Paul leads Team World to victory in NBA's 1st game in Africa

The NBA's first foray into playing games in Africa didn't end well for the players representing the host continent.

Team Africa coughed up a 20-point lead against Team World on Saturday in Johannesburg, with the world team storming back for a 101-97 victory. The San Antonio Spurs' mascot summed up the collapse succinctly:

Team Africa was falling apart so egregiously that, at one point, Gregg Popovich ceded coaching duties to Boris Diaw.

Chris Paul and Luol Deng shared MVP honors, with Paul scoring 12 points and dishing seven assists for Team World and Deng putting up 20 points for Africa. Giannis Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting.

The real stars of the game were Dikembe Mutombo and Hakeem Olajuwon, who at a combined age of 101, checked into the game for the African side. Olajuwon, in particular, made an impact, hitting Nikola Vucevic with a vicious post move and fadeaway jumper. The Dream Shake lives.

And despite the loss, the game was a massive deal for basketball in Africa. The entire week seemed to be a rousing success, and there's a chance it leads to a regular-season game on the continent at some point in the future.