Carmelo Anthony breaks U.S. Olympic scoring record in men's hoops

Carmelo Anthony became the all-time leading scorer in United States men's Olympic basketball history on Wednesday night, surpassing LeBron James.

Facing Australia, Anthony passed James' mark of 273 points in the first quarter. He opened the game by making three 3-pointers and then moved past James, his close friend, with another 3 from the left wing with 1:08 left in the first quarter.

David Robinson (270) and Michael Jordan (256) are third and fourth on the all-time list, respectively.

Anthony totaled 14 points in the opening quarter. He is the first U.S. men's basketball player to compete in four Olympics and has a chance to become the first men's basketball player to win three Olympic gold medals.

The veteran New York Knicks forward won gold with the U.S. in 2008 and '12, and he also won a bronze medal in '04.

Anthony, 32, chose to play with the U.S. team in a summer in which close friends James, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade either passed on the chance to play or were sidelined by injury. He explained why he decided to play in Rio during an interview with ESPN that aired earlier this week.

"I enjoy it, I enjoy it," Anthony said. "I like it. I enjoy learning about different players' personalities, not just as basketball players, but as people. I feel like I'm that bridge, that gap, between the veterans and the young guys."

In addition to holding the U.S. men's all-time scoring mark, Anthony has also played in a record 26 Olympic games. He trails Robinson by 31 rebounds for the all-time lead and trails Jordan by 20 field goals for the all-time field goal attempts mark.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.