The United States Olympic basketball team completed its exhibition tour with a fifth consecutive blowout victory on Monday, this one a 110-66 win over the Nigerian Olympians in Houston.
The team will fly to Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, and open Olympic pool play on Saturday against China.
Pacers forward Paul George sat out a second straight game with a strained left calf muscle. Kyrie Irving missed Monday's game with a left thigh contusion. Both injuries are minor, and their absence from the game was a precautionary measure.
"We rested Paul and Kyrie tonight," U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said afterward. "They'll be OK for the start of the Olympics."
Two NBA players also sat out the game for Nigeria. Festus Ezeli, who signed a free agent contract with Portland earlier this summer after playing three seasons with Golden State, is still recovering from knee surgery. Another Portland player, forward Al-Farouq Aminu, left the Nigerian team because of what he called "unresolved organizational challenges."
Carmelo Anthony led the U.S. with 19 points. Klay Thompson added 17, followed by Kevin Durant with 14 and DeMar DeRozan with 13.
With Irving sitting out, the team's only true point guard, Kyle Lowry, played 27 minutes. He finished with eight points, eight rebounds and 11 assists.
Krzyzewski said other team members could slide over to play point guard if necessary, including Jimmy Butler and George, who played it for a while in one of the exhibitions.
"But we'd rather have Kyrie out there; that would be a lot better," Krzyzewski said with a smile.
Krzyzewski said he was impressed with his team's defense, and believes he has a lot of lineup combinations to utilize if necessary.
"It's probably the most versatile team that we've had," he said. "We could put a group out there that defensively could really go after people. It gives us a lot of alternatives."
This game was no more challenging for the U.S. than any of the previous exhibitions. Once Kevin Durant's four-point play provided a 6-2 lead, it was never threatened. It led 54-30 at halftime and ran away further with an 18-2 run in the third quarter.
"Now the big show starts," Anthony said. "We've got to lock in."
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