Facing a team in China that they blew out on two pre-Olympic exhibitions (by 50 and 49 points, respectively), the United States was expected to begin its run to a fourth consecutive gold medal in men’s basketball with an impressive showing at the Carioca Arena Saturday night. Mike Krzyzewski’s team took care of business as expected, battling through a couple short stretches of sloppiness to defeat the Chinese by the final score of 119-62 to move to 1-0 in Group A play.
While China managed to score the first two points of the game, that was the only semblance of control that they would enjoy in this one. Kevin Durant scored a game-high 25 points and dished out six assists for the Americans, with DeMarcus Cousins adding 17 points and five rebounds and Kyrie Irving 12 points and five assists. Irving made four three-pointers on the night, with three of those coming during a third quarter stretch in which he made three consecutive from beyond the arc. Paul George, who two years ago suffered a horrific leg injury that kept him out of that years World Cup of Basketball, added 15 points in the win.
The Americans pulled away during the latter stages of the first quarter, leading 30-10 through one, and a 16-0 run in the third quarter proved to be the catalyst the United States “needed” to win by 57 points. They shared the ball offensively, with 31 of their 38 made field goals being assisted and six players finishing the game with at least three assists.
The United States limited China to 37 percent shooting from the field while also forcing the underdogs into 21 turnovers. Yi Jianlian, who spent some time earlier in his career in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks, paced China with 25 points and six rebounds. The United States returns to action Monday night at 6:00 p.m. Eastern when they take on Venezuela, another team the Americans beat during their pre-Olympic exhibition tour.
