Durant, Anthony, Cousins, Kyrie Irving and Warriors guard Klay Thompson started the game for the Americans, and all 12 players scored.
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“I thought China played really hard, they have a lot of young players and they are getting better and we were good”, said USA coach Mike Krzyzewski. “That’s better than making the shot, to be honest with you”. “If we keep playing hard and keep sharing the ball, I think we’re going to get better”. They play again Monday against Venezuela, another team they beat easily in exhibition play. But the guard who helped spark Cleveland over Golden State in June’s NBA Finals made up for his slow start once he got going, hitting four in five U.S. possessions to boost the American lead to 87-43.
Serbia 86, Venezuela 62: Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 19 points and Serbia got its first Olympic basketball victory as an independent nation.
This U.S. squad may be more “B Team” than “Dream Team” with many top players, including four-time National Basketball Association most valuable player LeBron James and twice reigning MVP Stephen Curry, deciding to stay home but there has been no noticeable drop in skill or quality. The AP reported Anthony tied LeBron James, who made a decision to skip these Games, and David Robinson by playing in his 24th game in the Olympics.
A US Olympic free throw record fell as the Americans made 33-of-45 from the line, eclipsing the old mark of 32 made from the record 46 attempts in a 1960 game against Italy.
The Americans closed the first quarter with a 26-6 burst to lead 30-10.
It was similar to the meeting between the teams in Chicago on July 29, when the US shot poorly and still won by 35 on their pre-Rio exhibition tour.
At one point, with three minutes to play in the second quarter, Durant sank a 3-pointer, marking his third straight three, a personal 9-0 run all coming from around the same spot, on the right wing. Too much offense, too much defense, and too much talent propelled the U.S. to its 46th consecutive victory in global competition and its 18th consecutive Olympic victory.
MELO: TEAM WILL MOVE ON AFTER REPORTS ON BROTHEL VISIT: Anthony says his US men’s basketball teammates need to accept responsibility and move on after reports that three players visited a legal brothel in Rio de Janeiro.
“What’s done is done. We accept those responsibilities and move on”, said Anthony, a four-time Olympian and the elder statesmen of the team. “Just because they haven’t been here before, or they might not be MVPs, or 10-time all-stars, that’s OK, we got some damn good players on this team”.
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Anthony was responding to questions about a TMZ report that several players thought they were walking into a spa on their day off Wednesday night, but wound up in a brothel.
