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Rio Roundup: Team USA basketball smashes China, tied with China and Japan in medals

By Alex Butler
United States guard Demar DeRozan (9) hangs from the hoop after dunking the ball during basketball competition at the Carioca Arena 1 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 6, 2016. The USA team crushed China 119-62. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI
1 of 8 | United States guard Demar DeRozan (9) hangs from the hoop after dunking the ball during basketball competition at the Carioca Arena 1 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 6, 2016. The USA team crushed China 119-62. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Team USA's basketball team showed exactly why it is runaway favorites for gold in Rio de Janeiro Saturday night, thumping China by 57 points.

The 119-62 win, albeit dominant, was not enough to actually earn a medal at this point. Golden State Warriors newcomer Kevin Durant shredded the Rio nets with 25 points. DeMarcus Cousins dominated inside with 17 points and five rebounds. Yi Jianlian led China with 25 points. China lost its previous two matches against the United States by 49 and 50 points, respectively.

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A starting lineup of Durant, Cousins, Carmelo Anthony, Klay Thompson, and Kyrie Irving was just overwhelming for the Chinese. The United States led 30-10 after the first quarter and outscored China by 29 points in the first half. Irving hit 4-of-5 3-pointers in the contest, while Durant drilled 5-of-8 from distance. The United States meets Venezuela at 6 p.m. Monday night.

As of late Saturday night, the United States, China, and Japan led all countries with five total medals, apiece.

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RUNDOWN IN RIO

Virginia teen Ginny Thrasher won the first gold medal in the Rio Summer Olympics after winning the women's 10-meter air rifle event Saturday morning.

The 19-year old beat out China's Du Li for the upset. Thrasher's final round total of 208.0 set an Olympic record. China's Yi Siling claimed the bronze medal.

Brady Ellison, Zach Garrett, and Jake Kaminski claimed silver for the United States in archery. The U.S. trio lost to South Korea's Woojin Kim, Bonchan Ku, and Seugyun Lee in the gold medal match. Australia claimed bronze.

Belgium's Greg van Avermaet claimed the gold medal in the men's road race. Denmark's Jakob Fuglsang claimed silver and Poland's Rafal Majka won the bronze medal.

In the 10-meter Air Pistol men's final, Vietnam's Xuan Vinh Hoang claimed the gold medal, while Brazil's Felipe Almeida Wu earned a silver medal. China's Wei Pang won the bronze medal in the event.

Thailand's Sopita Tanasan, Indonesia's Sri Wahyuni, and Japan's Hiromi Miyake topped the medal stand in women's 48kg weightlifting.

In swimming, United States' Chase Kalisz's 4:06.75 was not enough to win the men's 400-meter individual medley. He won the silver medal, falling to Japan's Kosuke Hagino. Japan's Daiya Seto claimed bronze with a time of 4:09.71.

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Australia's Mack Horton won the gold medal in the men's 400-meter freestyle final. China's Yang Sun earned the silver medal and Italy's Gabriele Detti won the bronze medal.

Maya Dirado also lost out on gold for the United States, claiming the silver medal in the women's 400-meter individual medley. Hungary's Katinka Hosszu won the gold medal in that event. Hosszu's 4:26.36 was good enough to cash in on swimming gold. Spain's Mireia Belmonte Garcia claimed the bronze medal.

The women's 4x100-meter freestyle swimming relay was capped by Australia. The United States claimed silver in the event, while Canada earned a bronze medal.

Men's single sculls repechage starts off at 8:30 a.m., to kick off the Sunday slate. Serena Williams begins her quest for gold with a first round singles match at 12:15 against Australia's Daria Gavrilova.

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