Kevin Durant leads as United States of America blows out China in Olympics opener

Led by Olympic veterans Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant, the Americans played with a level of comfort and cohesiveness that’s rare this early in a tournament like this. Maybe this was a reminder that no team can be taken lightly – and there is little margin for error – once the Olympic flame is ignited.

But the new Dallas Maverick looked fully recovered, scoring 18 points on 9 for 10 shooting in Australia’s 87-66 win over France on Saturday.

Kevin Durant looks ready to lead a new group of Americans to the gold-medal podium.

“We played really hard and we shared the ball”.

But there was no panic from the US who eventually showed their class while extending their Games’ winning streak to 19-0, a run of domination that dates back to the bronze medal game of the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Despite the fact that mainstays such as LeBron James and Chris Paul passed on the Olympics this time, coach Mike Krzyzewski said this squad has bonded as much as any of the three USA teams he has led to the Olympics.

Team USA might be on a break for a day before their Monday matchup with Venezuela, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be any Bulls action today. The U.S. Team is set to play against Venezuela on August 8.

Durant picked up where he left off at London 2012 with 25 points as the Americans routed the Chinese 119-62 in their opening game in Rio.

Former NBA lottery pick Yi Jianlian had 25 points to lead China. No other players were in double figures for the Asian champions. The U.S. piled up 31 assists against just 10 turnovers on the night.

The Chinese got on the board first with a pair of free throws, and it was tied at 4 after a basket by Yi.

Turning point: The score was knotted at 4-4 three minutes into the contest when the U.S. turned on the afterburners.

“It doesn’t matter what anybody says, I got nothing but confidence in everybody here, and I feel as though we have a great chance to do something special”. Cousins also played fewer minutes in this specific game, though that will not be a trend moving forward assuming Boogie can stay healthy.

Kevin Durant scored 16 points and Carmelo Anthony 14 for the US squad, which may have grown a touch overconfident following a 57-point blowout of China in its tournament opener.

DeAndre Jordan showed off some dance moves during layup drills as Brazilian fans, many of them wearing National Basketball Association jerseys, snapped photos of the American stars.