LONDON — Carmelo Anthony couldn’t believe it. He threw back his head and shrugged his shoulders.

The Olympics had never seen shooting like this, and may not ever again.

Not on the basketball court, anyway.

The U.S. men’s team rewrote the record books Thursday in a 156-73 romp over Nigeria, a blowout that answered the Americans’ detractors after two opening routs that provoked criticism of their slow starts and outside shooting.

Knocking down shots from every corner of the arena, the U.S. made an incredible 30 of 37 attempts inside the arc (81 percent) and hit almost as many times behind it, more than doubling their previous high with 29 3-pointers.

Anthony made 10 of his 12 3-pointers in his 37-point performance, accuracy that any Olympic archer would take.

But what if the Americans keep it up at the London Games?

“When they shoot like this, I don’t know if there is any team that can beat them,” Nigeria’s Ike Diogu said.

They broke the Olympic record for most points in a game with 4:37 still to play, and set U.S. records for 3-pointers (26), field goals (59) and field-goal percentage (71).