In London, Team USA individual brilliance outshone Spain

Team USA struggled for momentum most of the game, due in large part to a highly physical and effective Spanish half-court strategy of fouling to prevent fast breaks. At the half, the US led by only one point, 59-58. Doc Rivers, an analyst for NBC Sports, said at halftime that major questions for the US team remained, such as whether they could compete in the post with the Gasol brothers and Ibaka, instead of relying on the 3-point shot, for which they've reportedly received some criticism these games. Rivers then added, “That’s just who they are.”

But in the second half, very much in the manner of their previous games, the US team was able to get some good inside production from Kobe Bryant, playing in his last Olympics, and Chris Paul, in addition to James’ and Durant's outside shooting. And when Marc Gasol re-entered the game In the fourth quarter, his aggressiveness was hampered by having to avoid a fifth and final foul.

Spain, nevertheless got 15 points in the third from Pau Gasol (24 total for the game) and a gutty 21 for the contest from Juan Carlos Navarro, so that by the end of the period the Spaniards kept the score close, down by just one, 83-82.

The US, which had specialized during the London Games in forcing opponent turnovers, began getting butter fingers of their own, and this helped Spain to hang around. The fourth period saw a scoring exhibition by both Durant (30 points) and James (19 points) which allowed the U.S. to slowly pull away. Paul, Bryant and James started seeing daylight in the paint and began to pile up the points. Some clutch free throws by Kobe Bryant and James Harden helped seal the game in the final minutes.

In this win, James joins Michael Jordan as the only player in Olympic history to win an NBA title, the NBA MVP, the Finals MVP and an Olympic gold Medal in the same year. And early in the second half, Durant scored his 147th point of the Games to become the all-time high scorer for a single Olympics.

In the final minute, US head coach Mike Krzyzewski emptied his bench, and the starters began hugging on the sidelines. Krzyzewski, who is coaching his last Olympics, hugged Bryant and James – the latter of whom doused the coach with an improvised Gatorade shower (two water bottles). Krzyzewski was effusive in his praise for James, saying, among other things, “He can play any position well and he’s a great student of the game.”

Previous

1 | 2