Victim No. 1, Cuba, Loses by 79 Points : Basketball: U.S. needs only six points from Jordan, and Magic makes the one shot he takes.

OK, world. You wanted it, you’ve got it.

NBA stars make their Olympic debut as the ’92 U.S. team laid waste to Cuba, 136-57, Sunday in the Tournament of the Americas, breaking the U.S. record for victory margin.

“As we say in Cuba,” said Coach Miguel Calderon smiling, “you cannot cover the sun with your finger.”

Honored to be first in line for piecemeal destruction, the Cubans even asked the U.S. players and coaches to pose with them for a group picture before the opening tip.

The Americans then proceeded to score on 22 of their first 27 possessions.

They made 16 of their first 22 shots.

They went nine minutes before turning the ball over.

At the half, they had a 40-point lead.

Fast-break points were 27-4.

The turning point?

“When they threw the ball up,” Michael Jordan said.

For perspective, Cuba is a representative team at this level of competition. It was coming off Saturday night’s 79-78 victory over Canada, which had been considered the No. 2 power to the Americans in Pool A.

Of course, this U.S. team doesn’t come from this level of competition.

“In my case, I’ve followed them for years,” said veteran Cuban center Felix Morales through a translator.

“I know them all. To see them right there in front of you is definitely an awesome thing.”

The Cubans saw the entire galaxy of U.S. stars, including Magic Johnson, returning to competition for the second time since retiring Nov. 7.

Johnson, looking none the worse for his layoff, had five assists in seven minutes. He took his only shot midway through the second half, a layup, which he made.

“You can’t even touch on how I feel,” said Johnson, who finished with four points and nine assists. “I was up about 5:30 this morning waiting to get out there in competition. It was just great.

“This team has so many weapons. You can pass the ball to everybody. On your own team, you say, ‘I can’t give it to you, I can’t give it to you.’ ”

The Cubans, unused to slowing the tempo, got a clinic in fast-break basketball. Charles Barkley scored 22 points without taking a shot longer than 10 feet and not many that long.

“I just had to run,” Barkley said. “Earvin was getting it to me. Made my life easier.

“Just run and shoot layups--I can handle that.”

Did he feel guilty because of the U.S. embarrassment of riches?

“I was found not guilty last week,” Barkley said.

The second half was little more competitive. The U.S. stars kept pushing and the score kept mounting. “You don’t want to kill people, but what can you do?” Barkley said. “If we hold the ball, that’s embarrassing. The fans deserve to see us play.”

It could get worse, too.

At 100-34, Jordan had only scored two points. He finished with six.

The Americans ran right up to the final buzzer and beyond. Clyde Drexler’s fast-break dunk was clearly late but the referees counted it, too.

“I think you’ve got to play the game,” U.S. Coach Chuck Daly said. “I don’t know how you can tell players not to play.

“Hopefully, we’ll have more games like this. . . . “

Count on it.

Basketball Notes

The largest previous victory by a U.S. team was 101-29 over Thailand at Melbourne in 1956. This is the first time the American men have ever had to play in a qualifying tournament. . . . The United States shot 72% with Michael Jordan (two for six) the only player under 50%. . . . Collegian Christian Laettner, who played 10 minutes with Patrick Ewing sitting out, made three of four shots. . . . Charles Barkley: “You don’t want to pick a number. You just want to let ‘em know, any team that wants to beat us better bring a lunch and a hard hat.” . . . The U.S. plays Canada tonight.