The United States and Spain will meet in the Olympic men's basketball gold medal final to determine which nation has the best basketball team in the world. This will be a rematch of the 2008 Beijing Games.
The U.S. men's basketball team had just crushed Argentina 109-83 in the Olympic semifinal Friday night with its high-octane offense, smothering defense, and unmatched athleticism.
Kobe Bryant got things going with 11 first-quarter points. The Thunder's Kevin Durant went on a third-quarter scoring spurt with four 3-pointers, and then Carmelo Anthony took over, hitting four 3s in the fourth quarter.
Coming off a triple-double in the quarterfinal, James had 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists against Argentina.
Durant said it's "exciting" to see teammates catch fire.
"We watched Melo a few times, LeBron the same way," Durant said. "He catches fire going to the rim, getting dunks and making passes. Kobe last game. It's fun to watch. It's really cool to see everybody on the bench get up and cheer for them."
Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski is likely coaching in his final game for Team USA. He only spoke on the game in detail while offering a simple "yes" to the question of whether he was finished after these games conclude.
Spain will enter the game after taking care of business against the Russians.
The score was a low 67-59 victory, but Spain's big man Pau Gasol had the game of the night, putting together an impressive double-double of16 points and 12 rebounds.
Spain brings size the U.S. can't match, with brothers Pau and Marc Gasol, and Oklahoma City forward Serge Ibaka, who has played professionally in the Spanish leagues and became a Spanish national last year. The Americans will be forced to have James or Anthony defend Marc Gasol, who was an NBA All-Star this year and is much more of an threat then he was in Beijing.
This should be a good game as both teams were expected favorites to this year's Olympic finals.