The Team USA men's basketball team defeated Spain, 100-78, in a pre-Olympic exhibition game on Tuesday in Barcelona, Spain. The Spanish team is considered the USA's biggest threat to Olympic gold.
The final score is not really an indication of how close the game was in the first half. If not for three goaltending calls against Spain forward Serge Ibaka, the score might have been even tighter at the half than a 48-40 U.S. lead. Spain actually got off to a good start and had a 14-9 early lead due to easy looks for Ibaka, who had 16 points in the first half.
In the second half, the U.S. built a 15-point lead which would hold for the duration. Kevin Durant piled in 10 of his 13 points in the first three and half minutes of the second half to pace the U.S. early in the half. New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler ran into foul trouble once again. He fouled out with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter after playing just eight minutes. Not having the center did not matter as LeBron James picked up where Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony, who had 23 first-half points, left off scoring wise in the second half.
Anthony led Team USA with 27 points off the bench. James had 25 points for the game. Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams played 18 minutes and had four points and an assist. Pau Gasol led Spain with 19 points as Ibaka could not add a single point to his first half total.
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