RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - The USA started slow against Venezuela but picked things up in the second quarter, eventually rolling to a 113-69 triumph in the Olympic Basketball Tournament on Monday evening.

Carmelo Anthony came off the bench to spark the team with 10 first-half points and the Americans built a huge lead by halftime. They didn't look back as they improved to 2-0 in Group A.

Turning Point: The game was knotted at 20-20 when Anthony's lay-up sparked a 13-2 USA run that put the two-time defending Olympic champions on their way to a big win.

Stats Don't Lie: The USA, just 2-of-5 at the free-throw line in the first quarter, made 13-of-15 in the second as they took control of the game. Jimmy Butler was a perfect 6-of-6 at the charity stripe in that period, while Kevin Durant went 4-of-5. They finished 32-of-38 (84.2 percent). The USA were also out-rebounded 11-8 the first quarter but were back on top in that category by half-time, 19-18.

Hero: Anthony, who leapfrogged Michael Jordan into third place on the all-time USA scoring list in the win. He had 7 of his 14 points in the decisive second-quarter run that put the USA on their way to victory.

The Bottom Line: The USA joined Australia in remaining undefeated in their group ahead of the clash between the two teams on Wednesday. Venezuela dropped to 0-2, putting that much more pressure on their fixture against China in two days time.

FIBA