USA blows out Iran by 54 points in Olympic men's basketball tourney

The USA men's basketball team bounced back from a stunning upset loss in their opening game of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with a 120-66 rout of Iran on Wednesday at the Saitama Super Arena.

Damian Lillard led the way for the United States with 21 points, all of them on three-pointers.

Jayson Tatum and Devin Booker each added 14 while Zach Lavine finished with 13 points and a game-high eight assists.

The Americans dominated the first two periods thanks in large part to Lillard who was knocking down three-pointers all half long.

He hit a triple on Team USA’s opening possession to set the tone and finished with three treys in the first quarter alone, which they led 28-12.

In the second quarter, Lavine put together a bunch of points in a hurry, knocking down two free throws and back-to-back triples as part of a 15-2 run that pushed a 17-point lead up to 30, 47-17, with 5:36 remaining in the half.

Lillard then checked back into the game with under four minutes left in the second and knocked down three more three-pointers as the United States entered the half leading, 60-30.

The Portland Trail Blazers star had 18 points by halftime built around 6-for-11 (55-percent) shooting from long distance. The US, as a team, show 13-for-21 (62%) from three-point range in the first half while also forcing 11 Iran turnovers as opposed to just three on their end.

There was little let-up in the second half as the USA outscored Iran, 22-13, in the third to make it a 39-point advantage before pouring it on, 38-23, in the fourth.

—JMB, GMA News