Paul George scored 20 points and Jimmy Butler added 17 as the United States team of NBA stars routed Venezuela 113-69 Monday at the Rio Olympics. George's highlight reel-worthy slam dunk with 2:50 remaining in the fourth quarter brought the loudest cheers of the night. Kevin Durant added 16 points and five assists while Carmelo Anthony and DeAndre Jordan each scored 14 points. Jordan added nine rebounds and Kyle Lowry had nine assists for the Americans. Venezuela, with no NBA players, was level with the US NBA lineup at 18-18 after the first quarter. The South Americans actually led the US millionaires by a point three different times as the NBA squad struggled with five early turnovers and missed free throws. John Cox, a 35-year-old guard who led Venezuela with 19 points, is the cousin of Kobe Bryant, the legendary Los Angeles Lakers guard who retired in April after a 20-year career as a five-time NBA champion. In the women's section, Diana Taurasi scored 13 points and Sylvia Fowles added 12 as the US posted its second blowout in as many days, beating Spain 103-63. That's two consecutive contests the US scored at least 100 points — the last time the Americans did that was in 2004. The Americans (2-0) had a team-record 36 assists in the opening win. The victory was the 43rd consecutive for the US in the Olympics. The contest was a rematch of the 2014 world championship gold medal game that the Americans won by 13. In other games Monday, Canada improved to 2-0 for the first time in Olympic history, rallying from 18 points down to beat Serbia 71-67. Japan also is 2-0 after beating Brazil 82-66. China topped Senegal 101-64.
