U.S. looks unstoppable

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This article was published 11/08/2012 (4812 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LONDON — LeBron James turned away from his teammates gathered in the centre circle and waved to the fans as if to say: “See you Sunday.”

Right where the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team always expected to be, in the gold medal game, against the opponent it figured to see again.

“Anything less than this would have been unsatisfying for us,” Carmelo Anthony said. “We believe that we could get here, and we’re here now. We got one game left.”

Kevin Durant scored 19 points, James and Anthony added 18 apiece, and the U.S. turned on its slamming-and-shooting spectacle in the second half to overwhelm Argentina for the second time in five days, 109-83, in the semifinals Friday night.

The U.S. will play Spain on Sunday, a rematch of the Americans’ victory four years ago for the gold medal in Beijing.

“I think it’s only right,” James said. “Everyone said that this is the game they wanted to see. We look forward to it. We’re happy as a team we’re able to be back in this position. We’ve got to defend, we’ve got to rebound, we’ve got to share the ball.”

It’a daunting challenge for Spain.

The Americans have said they believe this team is better than the ’08 gold medallists, and they are certainly more potent — with a chance to end up outscoring the original Dream Team in 1992. They have breezed through the London Games, winning by an average of 36 points.

“You have three scorers on this team who get blistering hot if they make two shots in a row,” said Kobe Bryant, playing in his second Olympics. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Spain can’t afford many mistakes.

“They’ve got to play almost a perfect game and they’ve got to force them to play 5-on-5 and not let them run,” said Argentine star Manu Ginobili, who scored 18 points and now will play Russia for the bronze medal on Sunday. “But yeah, yeah, they can be beat. It’s not easy. The odds are not with Spain, but, of course, if you play your best game and they’re not very inspired, you’ve got a shot.”

Argentina, playing the U.S. in the semifinals for the third straight Olympics, hung around until early in the second half, just as it did Monday in the final game of pool play.

And just like that night, the Americans hit them with a wave of dunks and 3-pointers in the third quarter that turned it into a romp.

While not quite as explosive as their 42-17 period in Monday’s 126-97 win, this one had just as many highlights.

Ahead by only four after Ginobili opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer, the Americans pulled away with James and Durant.

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Durant made two 3-pointers in an 8-0 spurt that pushed the lead to 13, and when Argentina got back within eight, the NBA’s MVP and runner-up teamed up to blow it open.

James had a basket and drove for a powerful dunk while being fouled. Durant followed with consecutive 3-pointers, James tipped in a miss, and suddenly the lead was 19, 72-53, with 1:30 left in the period.

“We had a great run in the first half,” Ginobili said. “We started the third very well. And then we blinked.”

It became a runaway in the fourth when Anthony hit three 3-pointers in 42 seconds, the American bench spilling onto the floor as he strutted back to midcourt after the last one made it 93-64.

— The Associated Press