HOUSTON -- There were no bumps on this road to Rio.Next up for the U.S. Olympic mens basketball team is the trip to Brazil, where the Americans think they can play even better now that theyre done having to go place to place.As a team, I think youre going to see a much different team over there, Carmelo Anthony said.Anthony scored 19 points and the U.S. wrapped up its unbeaten exhibition tour with a 110-66 victory over Nigeria on Monday night.The Americans werent quite as potent this time but were dominant defensively after pouring on the points in a record-setting romp over the Nigerians four years ago. They forced the African champions to miss their first 22 3-point shots and held them to 4 for 29 behind the arc.Klay Thompson had 17 points and Kevin Durant added 14 for the U.S., which went 5-0 and wasnt tested during its easy five-city, pre-Olympic schedule. The U.S. men and women -- who arrived in Houston earlier Monday and attended the game -- are scheduled to fly Tuesday night to Rio de Janeiro, where both will be favored to repeat as Olympic basketball champions.We leave tomorrow night and then its off, hopefully, to a gold medal, U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said.The mens team will have to wait until it gets there for a close game -- if one comes at all. The Americans previously defeated Argentina, China twice and Venezuela by an average of 42.8 points, scoring 101 per game. They play the Chinese again to open Olympic play on Aug. 6 and also meet Venezuela again.This one was only close for a few minutes, perhaps a little longer than the Americans 156-73 victory in the 2012 Olympics, when Anthony set U.S. records by scoring 37 points and going 10 for 12 from 3-point range in just 14 minutes. He was 0 for 6 beyond the arc this time but scored nine points in the third quarter, when the lead ballooned to 43 points.The Americans rang up the most points ever scored in an Olympic game in the London contest, but Nigeria started better this time. Ben Uzoh brought the players on the Nigerian bench to their feet with a dunk over DeAndre Jordan in the first quarter, but the Americans gradually pulled away late in the period and kept increasing the lead from there.DeMar DeRozan had a few powerful dunks and Kyle Lowry and Jordan hooked up on a spectacular one, as Lowry threw an alley-oop pass from beyond halfcourt that Jordan slammed down.Were a talented team, its about just finding a rhythm, DeRozan said. We find rhythms later in the first quarter, in the second quarter. Now its about just starting from the gate.Chamberlain Oguchi finally got Nigerias first 3-pointer with a little under 4 minutes remaining. He added three more from there and finished with 21 points.Its hard because theyre so good in transition. It seemed like all of those 3-point misses kind of led to their leak outs and as we know when they can get into an open court they kind of feed off of that, Nigeria coach Will Voigt said.The U.S. played without starting point guard Kyrie Irving, who rested a bruised left thigh he sustained when he was bumped on a pick in the Americans victory over Venezuela on Friday in Chicago. Also, Indianas Paul George missed a second game with a left calf injury.Krzyzewski said both were expected to be fine for the Olympic opener.Lowry started for Irving and finished with eight points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. DeRozan, his Toronto teammate, scored 13 points.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/BriancmahoneyCory Schneider Jersey .35 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. 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Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie.NORTON, Mass. -- Rickie Fowler walked off Bethpage Black on Sunday steaming mad after posting a double-bogey and two bogeys in his final four holes.Now, lets not mince words: There have been tougher losses to overcome than Fowlers defeat at the Barclays. There have been collapses from seemingly insurmountable leads, down the stretch at major championships, even in recent months.On the scale of heartbreakers, Fowlers loss doesnt even register; he kicked away a 1-stroke, 54-hole lead to not only lose but fail to clinch an apparent Ryder Cup spot.That doesnt mean he didnt feel the effects.It definitely hurt, especially because of how well I was playing and how much good golf I put together during the week, but it was almost the opposite of Phoenix, said Fowler, referencing this years Waste Management Phoenix Open, where a 71st hole tee shot into the water led to a playoff loss to Hideki Matsuyama. I played well at Phoenix, but the last nine holes I did not miss a shot. I put it together, but a couple of bad breaks and Im on the losing end.Even the winningest professionals win tournament titles a small minority of the time, making each one of these close calls vitally important. When they dont go according to plan, it can often feel like a lost opportunity.All of which begs the question: How do players bounce back from these tough losses?Sticking to game plans, not wavering from what youve decided to do, said Fowler, who posted an opening 2-under 69 to begin his Deutsche Bank Championship title defense tied for 38th on Friday. I feel like Ive always been pretty positive on the golf course, not getting down on myself and trying not to dwell on the past. They all sound like clichés, but those are key things out there.Again, hes hardly the only player who has had to deal with the travails of trying to bounce back. In fact, ask any great player and theyll instantly recall a loss that hurt more than others.Jordan Spieths toughest defeat was a historic one. He led the Masters by 5 strokes with nine holes to play in April, only to eventually lose by 3.Recognizing the longevity of a career, recognizing how many chances youre going to get, and that kind of time and the poor memories, the poor experiences like this year at the Masters, if you keep your head down, keep doing your job, it will end up diminishing because youll end up getting back to that high point again, said Spieth, who won three staarts later at the Dean & DeLuca Invitational.ddddddddddddThe more times you prevail, the less you think about what happened in those tough times.He might not have received equal gratification from the event he won, but sometimes a tough loss can lead to an even bigger win afterward.When asked about this phenomenon, Zach Johnson instantly recalled a circumstance from last year.I was really, really upset after the John Deere Classic last year, he said of finishing 1 shot out of a playoff. I was bitter. It stuck with me for a little bit. You have to embrace the anger. You have to embrace the fact that you gave it your all and didnt win. You can be mad about it, but youve got to get over it pretty quickly, because the positive is that you had a chance to win a golf tournament, which isnt easy.Johnson took the positives with him and hopped on a plane to Scotland soon afterward. The very next week, he won the Open Championship at St. Andrews.As for his best advice for anyone coming off a tough loss, Johnson said, If you really want to dumb it down, youve just got to eliminate outcomes. Regardless of what you finish, find why you were in that position to win and stick to it.Theres no player in the current generation more closely associated with heartache on the golf course than Phil Mickelson. Despite 42 PGA Tour wins, including five major titles, his half-dozen U.S. Open runner-up results and other various near-misses have helped define his legacy just as much.One of the things thats always fueled me is that failure pisses me off, Mickelson admitted. It makes me work harder to try and overcome that. It was really a big thing for me in 2013, when I lost the U.S. Open; I was really down about that. But it inspired me to work harder, and I ended up having one of the greatest weeks of my life [winning] The Open. So you just have to use it as fuel as opposed to feeling defeated.As for bouncing back, Mickelson said there is no secret formula.Theres no magic; you just have to be resilient and you just have to accept it, Mickelson said. People are going to use failure as one of two things -- theyre going to either be depressed about it and pack their bags and go home, or theyre going to be motivated to work harder and not let that happen again to make up for the failure. ' ' '