Team USA Basketball completely dominated Nigeria on Thursday evening, winning by a score of 156-73. It was a complete blowout from the very beginning, with the United States starting the game on a 8-0 run and eventually taking a 78-45 lead at halftime.
Led by Carmelo Anthony and his 10 three-pointers, the US hit 29 shots from behind the arc. They dished out 41 assists, which helped lead to a 82% field goal conversion from inside the arc.
Kobe Bryant, who spends his time with the Lakers, played sparingly with such a large lead. Team USA's coaching staff has been careful with Bryant, especially since they want to save him for tougher competition once medal play begins. Chris Paul of the Clippers continued to be the starting point guard for the United States and did a terrific job facilitating the offense.
It was quite the performance from the team on Thursday, and now they'll look to replicate their success against Lithuania in their next meeting.
Check out SI's complete medal tracker here. That will keep you up to date on every country's progress this month.
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