Finals of the London 2012 Olympic Basketball Tournament

Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant turn emotional as
Team USA wins the gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics.

USA over SPAIN, 107-100

The United States Men's Team made it two Olympic gold medals in a row as they beat Spain in the Finals of the London 2012 Olympic Basketball Tournament.

In a rematch of the 2008 Finals from the Beijing Games, Team USA pulled away from Spain in the fourth quarter thanks to big plays by star players Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Chris Paul.

Entering the final frame with an 83-82 lead, Paul scored five quick points to help the Americans go up, 90-84.

Marc Gasol cut it to 90-86 before Durant buried his fifth three-pointer of the game and Bryant hit a pair of free-throws before scoring inside off of an offensive rebound for a 97-87 advantage.

Spain got within 97-91 as Rudy Fernandez tipped in Sergio Llull's miss on a fastbreak with 3:40 remaining, but James then had a thundering dunk and later knocked down a clutch three-pointer despite being closely guarded by Marc Gasol to make it 102-93 going into the final two minutes of the game.

Paul beat the shot clock inside the final minute to make it 104-93.

The Spaniards then played the clock, sending the Americans to the free throw line, but the strategy didn't work as they couldn't make their own shots.

Durant finished with a game-high 30 ppoints, James added 19, Bryant had 17 and Paul had 11.

Pau Gasol had 24 points for the two-time European champions Spain, while Juan Carlos Navarro added 21 and Marc Gasol had 17 despite limited minutes because of foul trouble.

"It was very similar in a lot of ways to 2008," Paul said afterwards of the game, comparing it to the Final from Beijing.

"We never could really put that run together that we put against other teams in this tournament and I command Spain for a well-played game. Our guys made big plays when we needed.”

He also explained what it was like to be a part of this team, which consisted of the 2008 Olympic gold medalists and members of the 2010 FIBA World Championship winning side.

"It feels good to win again with the guys from the 2008 team, and it was a great group of guys overall. This is probably the best team I'll ever be on. I'm going to miss these guys, and I hate that in a couple of months from now they're going to be my enemies. This was one of the best experiences of my life. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance and I did it twice. Nothing compares to this.”

After the game, Spanish Coach Sergio Scariolo paid tribute to his team.

"I'm really proud of how our team competed tonight, and throughout the tournament to overcome all the problems to go through. They did so with great commitment, togetherness, respect, discipline and talent but more than anything with character before skills," he said. "Tonight we don't really know whether to be happy or sad but after a day or two passes, we will be proud and understand the greatness of this team.”

He also had praise for the USA.

"They are an unbelievable group of players. It showed especially in the final seconds of possessions when we played great defense, but they made even better shots that we couldn't defend."

Marc Gasol played well despite foul trouble for
the Spanish side.

LeBron James's thunderous slam in the fourth game
enough cushion for the Americans.

RUSSIA over ARGENTINA, 81-77

Alexey Shved had 25 points and was clutch in the fourth quarter as Russia beat Argentina in the Bronze Medal Game of the Olympic Basketball Tournament for Men.

The Russians trailed late at 77-76, but Shved hit a three-pointer from the top of the key with 37 seconds remaining for a 79-77 edge.

Argentina moved the ball around the next trip down the floor and Andres Nocioni tried his luck from the right hand corner. However, his three-point attempt rimmed out.

Russia got the rebound, but Pablo Prigioni stole the ball near midcourt only to fall to the ground and see the Russians send it the other way.

Shved passed the ball up the court to a wide open Vitaliy Fridzon, who scored a lay-up for an 81-77 advantage with five seconds to go. Time then ran out on Argentina.

“We beat a great team today. I sincerely mean that. 2004 gold medalists, 2008 bronze medalists. A team that has been together 10 years, and has some of the brightest stars and two of the best coaches," Russia head coach David Blatt said afterwards.

Before Shved's dagger, Manu Ginobili had driven up and under the basket for a lefty lay-up high off the glass that put Argentina up for the last time with 43.2 seconds.

It was an epic game featuring 17 lead changes, and the score was tied on 12 occasions.

Russia will be thankful to Shved, who accounted for 13 of their last 17 points.

"He's a great, great talent. This tournament has been up and down for him, but as long as he's got confidence, he plays well. Today we gave him that confidence. He made a very important three at the end of the game and gave us a huge lift," Andrei Kirilenko said of his teammate.

Ginobili finished with 21 points for Argentina.

"It was a very tough game. It could have gone either way," he said. "Russia deserved it. They played a very good game and made the big shots.”