RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - The USA blew away China in the first quarter and stormed to a 119-62 victory on the opening night of the Olympic Basketball Tournament.

Kevin Durant, the United States' 2010 FIBA Basketball World Cup MVP, led the way with 25 points as the Americans thrilled the crowd with a rout of last year's FIBA Asia Championship winners.

Turning point: The score was knotted at 4-4 three minutes into the contest when the USA turned on the afterburners. A DeMarcus Cousins dunk sparked a 21-6 run to finish the quarter and Mike Krzyzewski's gold medal favorites never looked back.

Stats Don't Lie: Mistakes by opponents lead to easy baskets for the USA. China had 24 turnovers in the game. But give credit where it's due. The Americans had five players to come up with 2 steals each.

Game Hero: Durant led the scoring but you can't argue with the toughness that Cousins, who had 17 points and 5 rebounds, brings the Americans on the interior. He may end up being their most valuable player this summer.

The Bottom Line: China will be relieved to have faced the mighty Americans and to focus on their other Group B games, starting with their clash against France on Monday. As for the USA, they take on 2015 FIBA Americas champions Venezuela also on Monday.

FIBA