Team USA Men’s Basketball put on an historic performance in their 156-73 drubbing of Nigeria in group play of the 2012 London Olympics. You read that right… It was an 83 point victory.
Carmelo Anthony led the way for the US with 37 points, the most ever in an Olympic game, on the back of 10 three pointers. Ironically, Carmelo was on the bench in 2004 when Stephon Marbury set the previous record with 31 in 2004. The US went on to get just a bronze medal in those games.
Anthony says, they’re working too hard to let that happen again.
“On the off days we’re just workin’. Putting a lot of hard work in doing stuff that people don’t even really see behind closed doors. We’re locked in for this one.”
Here’s a list of the records the US set in this game.
Highest scoring game in Olympic history. The biggest margin of victory in United States history (83). Highest scoring game ever by an individual (Carmelo Anthony 37). Tied the all time assists record (41). Most threes ever made in a team USA game (29).
Actually, the US made 29 three pointers while the Nigerians managed just 28 field goals. The gap between these two was staggering. The previous highest score in a game was Brazil, who score 138. So the US beat that by 18.
And just in case you had any lingering worries about Team USA’s relatively slow starts… they had 49 points in just the first quarter tonight.
It may have been against a vastly inferior opponent, but this was an emphatic statement by Team USA. Things get a bit tougher from here on out with games against Lithuania on Saturday, then medal favorites Argentina on Monday.
Stick with this StoryStream for full coverage of local athletes in the 2012 Summer Olympics.To check on the progress of Andre Iguodala on Team USA, check back to this SBN Philly StoryStream.