TOKYO, July 27 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. women's basketball team started its Olympic title defense with an unconvincing win, beating Nigeria 81-72 at Tokyo 2020 here on Monday.

Nigeria had a dream start and took an 8-1 lead, though the U.S. then embarked on a 11-0 run to lead 12-8, before the Africans pulled back again to hold a 20-17 advantage by the end of the first quarter.

Nigeria kept their lead for another half-quarter, before the U.S. finally kicked into gear with a 25-2 run to take a 43-25 lead.

The American bench was deep enough to wear down the Nigerians as the six-time defending champions extended their lead to 70-50 in the third quarter.

But Nigeria still closed the gap to 75-67 with 3:19 to go with most of the U.S. starters on court, before the U.S. scored six straight points to seal the victory.

A'Ja Wilson had a game-high 19 points and 13 rebounds for the U.S., while Brittney Griner contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds. The U.S. had 25 turnovers in total.

Ezinne Kalu led Nigeria with 16 points. Enditem

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