Durant, Anthony, Cousins, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson started the game for the Americans, and all 12 players scored. Durant and Anthony are the only two holdovers from the gold medal team from four years ago.
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Carmelo Anthony, who was on hand when Team USA lost to Argentina in the semifinals at the 2004 Summer Games, was intent on sending a message in the opener.
DeMarcus Cousins scored 17 points and Paul George added 15 for the U.S. Former NBA player Yi Jianlian led China with 25 points.
Team USA will play Venezuela on Monday.
With Team USA not able to come together for training camp until July 18 after the long National Basketball Association season and USAB officials determined to stay stateside before the team left for Rio, they were limited to scheduling exhibition games against teams willing to come to the United States en route to Brazil.
They opened group play on the first day of the Rio Olympics with a 57-point blowout win over a Chinese team they beat twice by similar margins during pre-Olympic exhibition play, a final score of 119-62. He will become the first three-time gold medallist in men’s basketball if the U.S. wins.
Every player on the USA roster got on the score sheet in the opener with four getting into double figures led by Kevin Durant with 25. Irving finished with 12 points and and five assists in the win.
Andrew Bogut wanted one more shot to represent Australia at the Olympics and wasn’t going to let an injury take that away again.
But here he is in Rio, making a almost ideal debut.
Looking ahead, though, what you really have to be looking for is the Australia and France teams and if they can find an extra gear.
“They played their tails off against us and made us better”, offered Durant in the sincerest tone he could muster. “If it wasn’t right yesterday, I’d put my hand up and I’m on a flight back home”.
The US basketball team hasn’t stayed in the Olympic village since 1988, the federation’s chief media officer, Craig Miller, told NPR.
For China to have a chance of even getting within 20 points, it will need Durant, Thompson and the rest of Team USA’s roster to struggle badly from the field.
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Aside from its lavish amenities, the “Silver Cloud” will also feature beds that are long enough to allow the athletes to sleep comfortably, rather than hotel beds that may cause the taller players to dangle over the edge.
