Team USA Basketball leads Nigeria, 78-45, after the first half of play in a Group A game at the 2012 London Olympics.
New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony was nearly perfect in the first half of play. He shot 7-for-9 from the floor and led the team with 19 points. Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams was 3-4 from the floor and had seven points off the bench. Knicks center Tyson Chandler had two points and three rebounds in the first half.
The U.S. got off to a blistering pace from behind the three-point arc on mostly uncontested shots. There were also plenty of unguarded dunks on layups in a 49-point first quarter by the U.S. Given that they could seemingly score on every possession, the defense was lax by the United States in the first half which allowed Nigeria to score 25 in the first quarter. In the second quarter Nigeria played better while scoring less but the U.S.' lead only increased to the very impressive 33-point lead. The U.S. hit 14-of-25 from behind the arc for the first half.
Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant also reached double figures in the first half with 16 and 14 points, respectively. Nigeria was led by Ike Diogu who had 15 points in the half on 7-of-10 shooting.
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