With Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony the lone returning Olympians, the USA suited up ten Olympic neophytes in pursuit of their third straight Olympic gold medal. China kept it close in the first few minutes, scoring the first basket of the game to lead 2-0 as the USA got warmed up.
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Yi Jianlian led China with 25 points on 8-19 shooting, but no other player could manage double-figure points, as the team couldn’t get past its 15 first half turnovers (23 overall).
Durant made three 3-pointers in the first half as the US opened a 29-point halftime lead and coasted. Though USA Basketball is the clear favorite to take home the gold medal at the Games, there are seemingly more viable contenders to take them down than ever before.
Kevin Durant had 25 points as the USA men’s Olympic basketball team opened its Rio de Janeiro schedule with a 119-62 romp over China Saturday before a lively, near-capacity crowd at Carioca Arena 1.
United States’ DeMar DeRozan (9) scores over China’s Zhao Jiwei (4) during a men’s basketball game at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016. Team USA out-rebounded China 51-30 and the team also dished out 31 assists on 38 made field goals.
The Chinese got on the board first with a pair of free throws, and it was tied at 4 after a basket by Yi. Overall, the USA men’s team has won 69 consecutive games in worldwide competitions since 2006.
There were flags waving and fans singing, the festive scene in the stands more interesting to watch than the game that wasn’t competitive after the first few minutes.
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The 57-point victory was the United States’ biggest in a win in an opening game of the Olympics since the Dream Team beat Angola by 68 in 1992.
