SHAKING off a sluggish, sloppy start and maybe some Brazilian boredom, the U.S. basketball team regrouped in the second quarter and romped over Venezuela 113-69 Monday, taking another step toward a possible third straight gold medal.

    Kevin Durant scored 16 points and Carmelo Anthony 14 for the U.S. squad, which may have grown a touch overconfident following a 57-point blowout of China in its tournament opener.

    Anthony moved past Michael Jordan on the career scoring list and now only trails LeBron James and David Robinson for the most points by an American Olympian.

    The Americans were tied at 18-all after one quarter, but stopped turning the ball over and fouling, unleashed their defense and outscored Venezuela 30-8 in the second period. They cruised from there, improving to 82-1 under coach Mike Krzyzewski and reminding everyone it’s going to take a special performance for 40 minutes to deny them another Olympic title.

    “Everything’s not going to be easy,” Durant said. “We know that, even with this great team.”

    It was similar to the meeting between the teams in Chicago on July 29, when the U.S. shot poorly and still won by 35 on their pre-Rio exhibition tour. Maybe this was a reminder that no team can be taken lightly — and there is little margin for error — once the Olympic flame is ignited.

    “Once we settled down, made our adjustments to the way they were calling the game, the way that Venezuela wanted to play the game, that second quarter we picked it up defensively and turned it around,” Anthony said.

    The Americans continue pool play the next day against unbeaten Australia. The Aussies, featuring five NBA players, four of them league champions, improved to 2-0 Monday with an impressive 95-80 win over Serbia. Australia has never won an Olympic medal in men’s basketball, but Krzyzewski knows the team will be up for the Americans.

    “I don’t think they’ve gone back to their boat or apartment or wherever they’re staying thinking they can’t beat us,” the coach said. “They feel like they can beat us and we understand that.”(SD-Agencies)