U.S. basketball team Wins against Spain for the Olympic gold medal

LONDON – U.S. basketball team defeated Spain 107-100 in a game like the 2008 Beijing final, a thrilling shootout which the U.S. won 118-107. The Spaniards had closed to within four points in the last three minutes of that game, and pulled to within six with 3:20 to go on Sunday before a Lebron James dunk and three-pointer gave the Americans a bit of breathing room.

James scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds and hit a late 3-pointer to finish off Spain. He only strengthened his reputation as the game's greatest player during these Olympics. He now joins Michael Jordan as the only players to win the NBA regular-season MVP, NBA Finals MVP, NBA title and Olympic title in the same year.

Lebron was the undisputed leader of this Olympic team, at the heart of every late-game surge. He even took charge of the final duty on the championship night: Dousing Coach Mike Krzyzewski with Gatorade. James and the coach shared a long embrace during the post-game celebration.

James found himself on the bench for four minutes of the fourth quarter after picking up a fourth foul by accidentally poking Pau Gasol in the eye. When he returned to the game, he drove into the lane off Kevin Love's pick and dunked for a 99-91 lead with 2:49 left. His three-pointer on the next possession gave the U.S. a 102-93 cushion with 1:59 to go.

Spain wasn't helped by a couple of curious decisions by its coach, Sergio Scariolo. Scariolo left Marc Gasol on the floor too long after his third foul in the first half. And with Marc Gasol then saddled with four fouls at halftime, Scariolo didn't play him at all in the third quarter. Pau Gasol also said Spain's defensive breakdowns in the final minutes could be attributed to the team going to a scheme it had not practiced.

Kevin Durant have 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds. With the U.S. leading by just one point with 9:25 to go, Paul hit a three-pointer and layup to make it 90-84. Kobe Bryant added 17 in the matchup against his Los Angeles Lakers teammate Gasol, who led Spain with 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Juan-Carlos Navarro added 21 for Spain and Marc Gasol had 17.

Russia won the bronze medal with a 81-77 win over Argentina.