The U.S. held off a resurgent Spanish squad to win the gold in London, 107-100. Spain’s offensive explosion gave the U.S. all they could handle in a thrilling game that featured some marvelous performances on both sides. Kevin Durant drained five 3-balls to lead all scorers with 30 points, and Lebron James stepped up, again, with 19. Spain got 24 from Pau Gasol, and 21 from Juan-Carlos Navarro, who was hot early and cold late. Pau also led his squad with 7 assists by passing out of double teams, and pulled down 8 boards. Kevin Love, who was his usual monstrous self on the boards, tied with Durant and Spain’s Serge Ibaka for the game lead in rebounds with 9.

This game was intense, with hard fouls and tough picks galore. There was much jawing at the referees, but mercifully they did not decide the game. Each team had 27 fouls, which is too many and damaged the pace of the game, but the vast majority were good calls. Perhaps the key play of the game was Marc Gasol’s fourth foul, one short of the international limit, in Q2. Despite sitting out much of the second half, Marc ended up with 17 points in the same number of minutes, leaving the Spanish with a sickening “what might have been” feeling. Brother Pau picked up the offensive slack, scoring on a variety of dandy spin moves down low. However, the Spanish outside shooting, so important to them early, never returned.

The Americans bent, but didn’t break, losing the lead a number of times but always roaring back. Yet when the game appeared to be spinning away from the Spaniards, they settled down, ran their offence, and keep it close. The American lead was 8 after Q1, but only a single point after Q2 & 3. U.S. runouts were limited by the Spaniards, who fouled the ball handler before he could make the key pass to the open man.

The Raps’ Jose Calderon had a quiet game, taking (and missing) one shot in 17+ minutes of PT. His defensive shortcomings were apparent on several occasions, most notably when Kobe Bryant blew past him for an easy slam.

Ultimately the U.S., the tournament’s best team, won the gold medal. They needed to play very well to do so, and as a hoops fan, it’s difficult to ask for more.

Brian Boake is a staff writer for Raptors Rapture. “Like” Raptors Rapture on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @RaptorsRapture for all the latest news and updates about the best damn NBA team from Canada. 

In a game all hoops lovers wanted to see, the gold medal game will see Spain take on the U.S.

The countries arrived at this showdown from different routes. The Spaniards were challenged constantly during their thrill ride through Group B., winning 3 & losing 2 in the Qualifiers, before finding their game when they needed it. In the Brackets, Spain managed tight victories over France, then Russia, to reach this point. The U.S. had but 1 tough game in Group A Qualifiers, that against Lithuania where they prevailed by 5 points. Otherwise, the games were over early, and the Americans outscored their opponents by a ridiculous 191 points (589-398), including a preposterous 83 point margin over Nigeria.

The Raps’ Jose Calderon has had a marvelous Olympics, and I hope his fine play continues in what will almost certainly be the final Olympic game of his career. The Spaniards will need him to play out of his mind, because any objective assessment of this game sees the Americans prevailing. Their depth is unparalleled. While Spain’s first team of the Gasol brothers, Marc & Pau, Rudy Fernandez, Serge Ibaka and Jose can play against anyone, the U.S.’s second unit is likely to throttle the Spaniards’ benchers. The Americans play in constant overdrive, and will pressure the ball without mercy. Even Jose, who protects the ball superbly, is going to feel relentless heat, and there will be turnovers, and easy buckets. The other seemingly unsolvable problem for Spain is Lebron James, who is the best player on this planet, and probably several others. Is there anyone better at the end of the shot clock?

Everyone wants to cheer for the underdog, but in this case, the head will have to overrule the heart. The U.S. players will be parading gold in a few hours, winning 90-71.

Brian Boake is a staff writer for Raptors Rapture. “Like” Raptors Rapture on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @RaptorsRapture for all the latest news and updates about the best damn NBA team from Canada.