The US men’s basketball team proved that talent and team play could overcome a shortfall in size as they beat an inspired Spain 107-100 to win the Olympic gold on Sunday.
With Kevin Durant leading the way with 30 points, and LeBron James and Kobe Bryant backing him up, the US retained their Olympic title in a repeat of the closely fought 2008 final in Beijing.
Spain, relying on the inside game of Pau Gasol and the outside shooting of Juan-Carlos Navarro, gave the powerhouse US team their most serious test after the US had won their first seven games by an average margin of 35 points.
Photo: AFP
“The closer the game got, the more intense we got, the more focused we got,” Bryant said.
Spain, featuring a towering front court, with Pau Gasol, his younger brother Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka camping out under the basket, were much bigger in the lane, but they could not quite match the US’ scoring punch in the end.
Pau Gasol, who has won two NBA titles as a teammate of Bryant’s on the Los Angeles Lakers, glowered at Bryant after he was fouled at one point, but at the end of the game the two had a long hug on the court.
“They’re very talented, very gifted players. They can score in bunches and you have to give them credit,” Gasol said. “I feel proud of our silver.”
Both teams rushed the ball up the court in non-stop action to the roaring delight of the 20,000 fans packed into the North Greenwich Arena and they were separated by just one point at halftime at 59-58.
The US were still clinging to their one-point lead at 83-82 going into the fourth quarter, before point guard Chris Paul and James took control at the start of the final quarter to give the US some breathing space.
The US built a nine-point lead at 95-86 midway through the fourth, with Durant and Bryant taking turns scoring.
After Spain’s Juan-Carlos Navarro sank a jumper and Rudy Fernandez tapped in a follow shot on a fast break, James took the spotlight with a drive he finished with a volatile slam and a three-pointer that restored the US’ cushion.
James, who added London gold to his NBA Most Valuable Player award, his NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award and the NBA title he won with the Miami Heat, had 19 points, the second-highest scorer for the US.
“We just wanted to continue to share the ball, continue to make plays, but it starts with stops,” said James, who also had a team-high four assists. “If we don’t get defensive stops, we don’t build that lead. It’s a one-point lead going into the fourth, and we were able to build that lead and that’s what it’s about.”
With 15 three-pointers, the US more than doubled the seven long-range shots made by Spain, who had to work harder to keep up with the US sharpshooters.
Gasol, who scored the first 13 points for his team at the start of the third quarter to help them take a 71-70 lead, topped the scoring list for Spain with 24 points.
The first half of the game was marked by some rough physical play, with several hard fouls taken. Each team was assessed an unsportsmanlike penalty and the US bench was warned they would be penalized if they continued to complain.
“It was a beautiful game of basketball,” said the Memphis Grizzlies’ Marc Gasol, who was hit with his fourth foul midway through the second quarter, yet still scored 17 points for Spain. “Our team did a great job out there. We just couldn’t pull it off.”
Navarro, who scored 14 points in the first quarter to open up the lane for Gasol to operate in, finished with 21 points.
“We know Spain is a great team. They match up well with us. We match up well with them,” James said, referring to the size advantage held by Spain, and the edge in quickness and scoring power enjoyed by the US. “They wanted redemption. We are just happy we were able to make enough plays and come through.”
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was