FIBA Asia: Mighty Iranians flex muscles, wallop Malaysia by 90

This wasn't just a massacre. It was an annihilation.

Two-time champions Iran fired a warning shot to the rest of the field in the FIBA Asia Championship, essaying an eye-popping 115-25 win over a terribly overmatched Malaysia side to get their title redemption bid off to a roaring start and take the early lead in Group C.

Champions in 2007 and 2009, the Iranians stormed out of the gate early and quickly, racing to a huge 42-3 lead after the first quarter. Malaysia's only basket in the first 10 minutes came off a triple by Wen Keong Tong at the 7:26 mark that cut Iran's lead to 8-3. The Iranians then poured it on behind NBA veteran Hamed Hadadi and smooth forward Samad Nikkha Bahrami, dropping a murderous 48-2 bomb to go up 56-5 with only 2:41 to go in the second period.

The Malaysians, who are mourning the sudden death of big man Jacky Ng Kiat Kee, uncorked what amounted to a mini-rally closing the first half with an 8-2 run that cut the deficit to 58-13 at the half.

Iran "responded" in the third period with another massive run, holding Malaysia scoreless through the first 9:05 of the quarter while scoring 33 points of their own to enter the last period holding a ridiculous 91-15 lead.

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The lead reached its largest with only 56 seconds left in the match, when Mohamad Jamshijirafabadi's basket pegged the final count. Iran got the final possession of the game with only 18 seconds left, but mercifully decided not to put up a shot anymore.

Overall, Iran made 47 of their 77 shots for a 61% shooting clip, while Malaysia made 9 out of 47 for 19%. The Iranians forces their opponents into 34 turnovers while committing only 10. Malaysia's only bright spot was a perfect shooting clip from the free throw line: Ban Sin Ooi took his team's only two free throw attempts and made them both.

Hadadi led Iran with 21 points in just 13 minutes of action as every player fielded by Coach Memi Becirovic scored at least four points. Iran next takes on Korea in their first real test, while Malaysia faces another potential blowout against defending champion China. Both games are scheduled for Friday.