BARCELONA, Spain — Gold medal at stake or nothing at all, the U.S. Olympic basketball team is too good for Spain.
Carmelo Anthony came off the bench to score 23 of his 27 points in the first half, and the Americans beat Spain 100-78 on Tuesday night in a rematch of the gold-medal game — and possible preview of the next one.
LeBron James added 25 and Kevin Durant had 13, including 10 in the first 3 ½ minutes of the third quarter to help the U.S. break open the teams’ final exhibition game before heading to London.
The teams played a memorable gold-medal game four years ago, the Americans pulling away for a 118-107 victory after leading by only four points with under 2½ minutes left.