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US hoops outlast Spain for golden double
Source: Agencies |
August 13, 2012, Monday
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KEVIN Durant scored 30 points and LeBron James added 19 as the United States men's basketball team defended its Olympic title, holding off stubborn Spain 107-100 yesterday for the gold medal - just as the Americans did in 2008 in Beijing.
It was a golden double for the Americans after the women won gold on Saturday.
Kobe Bryant added 17 points for the US, which only led by one point after three quarters and was ahead just 97-91 when James drove the lane for a thunderous dunk and followed a miss by Spain with a 3-pointer.
In the final minute, US coach Mike Krzyzewski, in his final international game, took out his top stars who came to London determined to keep American basketball on top. When the final horn sounded, Krzyzewski locked James in a tight embrace as Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The USA" rocked the North Greenwich Arena in London.
Pau Gasol scored 24 points, Juan-Carlos Navarro had 21 and Rudy Fernandez contributed 14 for Spain, which had to settle for silver for a second straight Olympics.
It was 14th overall title for Americans. The US multi-millionaire lineup of National Basketball Association elite claimed its fifth crown in the past six Olympics, improving to 62-1 since revamping the national team program after settling for bronze in 2004.
The Americans ran through the tournament undefeated just as they did in 2008. The latest roster had five gold winners from Beijing and five from the US 2010 world champion.
But reigning European champion Spain, routed by the US in a pre-Olympic exhibition game last month in Barcelona, stayed with the defending champion to the very end.
Earlier, Alexei Shved scored 25 points - 13 in the fourth quarter - and Russia won its first medal in Olympic men's basketball with an 81-77 victory over Argentina.
Andrei Kirilenko added 20 points and Vitaliy Fridzon 19 for Russia, which finished ninth in Beijing.
Manu Ginobili scored 21 and Andres Nocioni 16 for Argentina, which was looking to add another bronze to its Olympic collection after winning one in China and gold eight years ago in Athens.
On Saturday, the US extended its long reign in women's basketball by claiming its fifth successive gold with an 86-50 rout of France.
With Candace Parker leading the way, the Americans extended their Olympic winning streak to 41 games dating back 20 years to their bronze medal at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
It was a golden double for the Americans after the women won gold on Saturday.
Kobe Bryant added 17 points for the US, which only led by one point after three quarters and was ahead just 97-91 when James drove the lane for a thunderous dunk and followed a miss by Spain with a 3-pointer.
In the final minute, US coach Mike Krzyzewski, in his final international game, took out his top stars who came to London determined to keep American basketball on top. When the final horn sounded, Krzyzewski locked James in a tight embrace as Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The USA" rocked the North Greenwich Arena in London.
Pau Gasol scored 24 points, Juan-Carlos Navarro had 21 and Rudy Fernandez contributed 14 for Spain, which had to settle for silver for a second straight Olympics.
It was 14th overall title for Americans. The US multi-millionaire lineup of National Basketball Association elite claimed its fifth crown in the past six Olympics, improving to 62-1 since revamping the national team program after settling for bronze in 2004.
The Americans ran through the tournament undefeated just as they did in 2008. The latest roster had five gold winners from Beijing and five from the US 2010 world champion.
But reigning European champion Spain, routed by the US in a pre-Olympic exhibition game last month in Barcelona, stayed with the defending champion to the very end.
Earlier, Alexei Shved scored 25 points - 13 in the fourth quarter - and Russia won its first medal in Olympic men's basketball with an 81-77 victory over Argentina.
Andrei Kirilenko added 20 points and Vitaliy Fridzon 19 for Russia, which finished ninth in Beijing.
Manu Ginobili scored 21 and Andres Nocioni 16 for Argentina, which was looking to add another bronze to its Olympic collection after winning one in China and gold eight years ago in Athens.
On Saturday, the US extended its long reign in women's basketball by claiming its fifth successive gold with an 86-50 rout of France.
With Candace Parker leading the way, the Americans extended their Olympic winning streak to 41 games dating back 20 years to their bronze medal at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
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