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US NBA stars overcome slow start to rout Venezuela

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2016/sports2/08/09/paul-george.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Paul George (USA) of the USA bumps with Deandre Jordan (USA) of the USA. Photo by Jim Young, Reuters</div></figcaption></figure></div>RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- (UPDATED) Another slow Rio Olympics start for the American NBA stars ended with the same result, a lopsided victory for the US millionaires Monday as they seek a third consecutive title.Paul George scored 20 points and Jimmy Butler added 17 in a 113-69 rout of Venezuela, but the South American side played the US squad level at 18-18 after the first quarter.&quot;We have to get off to a better and faster start,&quot; Butler said. &quot;We know we can&#x27;t dig ourselves a hole. The way we play defence, if we guard like that for 40 minutes, we&#x27;ll be in a great position to win.&quot;George&#x27;s highlight slam dunk with 2:50 remaining in the fourth quarter brought the loudest cheers of the night.Venezuela never came within 21 points in the second half, but they led by a point three different times in the first quarter.&quot;We kind of knew they were going to slow the game up, change the pace, but we didn&#x27;t expect it to be like that,&quot; said Carmelo Anthony, seeking an unprecedented third Olympic men&#x27;s hoops gold medal.The fairy tale faded quickly as the US outscored Venezuela 30-8 in the second quarter for a 48-26 half-time edge. Anthony scored 10 of his 14 points in the period, surpassing Venezuela&#x27;s total on his own.&quot;In the second quarter we picked it up defensively and turned the corner,&quot; Anthony said.Former NBA Most Valuable Player Kevin Durant added 16 points and five assists while DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and nine rebounds and Kyle Lowry contributed nine assists.&quot;We just didn&#x27;t knock down shots,&quot; Jordan said. &quot;Once we were able to settle down and play defence, we started hitting some shots. Our defence is going to carry us through this tournament.&quot;The Americans stumbled early against China in their opener with five misses and five turnovers before imposing a humbling 119-62 defeat. But this time, the struggles lasted into the second quarter.&quot;We got to our groove a little slower than we did in the first game,&quot; Durant said.&quot;You go through adversity no matter what on the court, and those guys, they attacked us early, got us in foul trouble and slowed the game down. You can&#x27;t foul. We&#x27;ve got to stop using our hands so much.&quot;<div>- &#x27;When they run, they kill&#x27; -</div>Venezuela coach Nestor Garcia was unhappy at the US 31-6 edge in fast break points.&quot;When they run, they kill,&quot; he said.Venezuela had given the US team its toughest test in pre-Rio warm-up games before falling 80-45.&quot;It&#x27;s not like we weren&#x27;t ready to play,&quot; US coach Mike Krzyzewski said. &quot;They tried to control the tempo. We fouled a lot and didn&#x27;t get into a good offensive rhythm. It&#x27;s good to see how we would respond. I think we wore them down as the game went on.&quot;John Cox, a 35-year-old guard, scored 19 points to lead Venezuela. Cox 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.Cox sees little hope of anyone stopping the US juggernaut.&quot;Defensively, even if they have a bad day, they can switch so many positions, they&#x27;re going to be really hard to beat,&quot; Cox said. &quot;You&#x27;re not going to see teams score 90 to 100 points on them. They&#x27;re too long and athletic.&quot;<div>© 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse</div>For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- (UPDATED) Another slow Rio Olympics start for the American NBA stars ended with the same result, a lopsided victory for the US millionaires Monday as they seek a third consecutive title.