Team USA Wins Gold As Kevin Durant Scores 30 Points
Team USA edged out Spain with a final score of 107-100 to claim yet another gold medal in men’s basketball. Team USA was pushed along by the superior play of Kevin Durant who laid down 30 points. The final was a rematch of the 2008 Olympic games final in Beijing.
Backing up Durant was LeBron James who dropped 19 points while Lakers star Kobe Bryant added 17 points for the US.
Team USA led by just one point through three quarters and led 97-91 after LeBron James drove the lane for a dunk and Spain missed on a 3-point attempt.
During the final minute of the game U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski pulled his star players from the court and as the game ended the NBA stars, typically adamant competitors embraced as “Born In The USA” blared throughout the arena.
The gold medal was especially meaningful for head coach Mike Kryzynewski who turned around the men’s Olympic team and then announced this year his plans to retire from coaching the national team program.
Spain was lifted by Pau Gasol who landed 24 points while Juan-Carlos Navarro hit 21 points for Spain.
Pau Gasol scored 24 and Juan-Carlos Navarro had 21 for Spain, which had to settle for silver in the second straight Olympics.
LeBron James now joins Michael Jordan as the only players to win the NBA title, regular-season MVP, NBA Finals MVP and Olympic gold.
Before the 2012 London Olympics Kobe Bryant said this years team could defeat the original Dream Team which included the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley and Larry Bird. The original Dream Team in the meantime were far more dominate in their victories.
