Kevin Durant led the United States of America in scoring with 25 points, Kyrie Irving chipped in 12 points, at one point hitting three straight threes.
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Kevin Durant and the new-look USA Olympic basketball team looked just as dominant as their gold medal-winning counterparts from the past two Games as they demolished China on Saturday.
Team USA kicks off their run for an unthinkable 14th gold medal with a game against China on August 6.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 National Basketball Association draft tumbled to the floor with a hyperextended knee in Game 5 of the National Basketball Association finals, and no one really expected him to get up this summer.
The last time the USA men’s basketball team failed to win gold at the Olympics was in Athens in 2004, and that was the only time.
Carmelo Anthony is a seasoned vet at this point of his global career – when he hits the court Saturday, it’ll be his fourth Olympics.
Team USA will play Venezuela on Monday as pool play continues.
After two free throws off of an early possession, China took a 2-0 lead over USA Basketball.
“We just wanted to send a statement to the rest of the world”.
Team USA are missing the biggest names in basketball like Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James and Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry.
Durant is making his second Olympic appearance, but it will be Anthony’s fourth time representing the Stars and Stripes on the biggest stage and the 32-year-old will be the leader of the team.
Tony Parker scored 16 of his team-high 18 points in the second quarter for France, considered by many as the second-best men’s team in the tournament behind the United States.
A local journalist tried to teach him the word for underdog, then asked if there was any chance the US could fill that role.
Former NBA player Yi Jianlian and Zhou Qi will lead team China. “That’s what makes the game great, when you have great players coming together with one goal”.
If the Americans keep playing like this, the Olympic competition may not, either.
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s boys actually started slow, having only a two-point lead in the opening minutes, 6-4, before they turned on the ignition and made it a 22-6 lead with five minutes left in the first period. “I mean, really good”, Krzyzewski said.
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The worst player on Team USA would very likely be the best player on most of the other squads.
