USA Breaks Olympic Basketball Scoring Record vs. Nigeria

A three-point jumper by Andre Iguodala in a 68-point game may not have meant much for the United States men’s basketball team in their 156-73 win over Nigeria, but it was a shot that will forever be etched into the Olympic record books.

Iggie’s three broke the all-time Olympic scoring record, and the U.S. wasn’t even finished yet. The 156 points is the most ever in Olympic competition, shattering the mark of 138 set by Brazil.

The team shot 71 percent from the floor (59-83) and an mind-numbing 63 percent from three-point territory (29-46). The only criticism of this performance could be found in their foul shooting. They shot 64 percent as a team (9-14). Yes, one percentage point better than what they shot from behind the arc.

Here is a rundown of all of the records that were tied/broken on Thursday:

Highest Total Score: 156

Largest Margin of Victory Ever For U.S: 83

Most Points Ever Scored By a Single Player: Carmelo Anthony with 37

Most Three’s Ever Made: 29

Tie All-Time Assist Record: 41

Nigeria made 28 total field goals.

Where to begin on a night that NBC analyst Doc Rivers called “maybe the best shooting performance in basketball history”.

Let’s start with Carmelo, who scored the highest amount of points ever in an Olympic game with 37 on an absurd 13 of 16 from the floor. He was 10 of 12 from three-point land! The USA Basketball Twitter feed provides us with a stat that you have to double-check, because it doesn’t look right:

"

In case you were wondering ... Melo's 37 points came in 14 minutes. No, that's not a typo.

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 2, 2012"

Russell Westbrook came off the bench to add 21 points while making 7 of 8 field goals. Kobe Bryant had 16, Kevin Love had 15 and Kevin Durant had 14.

James Harden’s 3 of 8 performance marked the only player from the U.S. who failed to shoot 50 percent.

All of this and LeBron James only had nine points.

It was a miraculous performance by the Americans and one that will now be in the Olympic record books.

Let the Dream Team debate begin once again!

Follow Eric Ball on Twitter.