LeBron James (AP)
LONDON — Chris Paul huddled up the USA players before going out for the fourth quarter, Spain giving them the fight of their Olympics. Team USA clung to a one-point lead in a chippy game and the tension in North Greenwich Arena was thick.
“We didn’t fight this long to come up short,’’ Paul told them.
This fight began in the 2004 aftermath, when USA Basketball disgraced itself with a bronze-medal showing. That memory became a lot more distant yesterday as the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team captured its second straight gold medal with a steely fourth quarter and a 107-100 victory over a scrappy Spanish club that stayed within striking distance until the final minutes.
“The huddle,’’ said Kevin Durant, “was needed.’’
Durant wasn’t on the Redeem Team of 2008, but Team USA couldn’t have beaten Spain without him as he finished with a team-high 30 points and made 5-of-13 3-pointers, draining big shot after big shot.
LeBron James added 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting, adding another gold to his NBA championship. Kobe Bryant finished with 17 points.
James, despite foul trouble, Bryant, Paul and Durant all took turns being clutch in the final period to carry the U.S. to safety. They didn’t take the Olympics by storm as the 1992 Dream Team did, but it’s good enough.
Paul, who had a big fourth quarter, called the gold “bittersweet’’ because, “I hate that in a couple of months, they’ll be my enemies. I hate it’s the last game playing together. It’s something we’ll never forget.’’
“That is the first time we had so many great players to carry the team,’’ Bryant added. “When the war goes on that is the time you let it go. I’m on cloud nine.’’
This was a rare off Olympic game for Carmelo Anthony, who was scoreless in the final three quarters after his eight-point first-quarter flurry. Anthony, who hurt his quad after crashing to the floor after Pau Gasol ran into him on his jumper, finished 3 of 9 from the field.
“Every single time we threw a punch at them, they threw one back,’’ center Tyson Chandler said. “My hat goes out to them. They’re an incredible opponent. That’s what makes it that much better. It came down to the wire.’’
Team USA overcame the red-hot 3-point shooting from Juan Carlos Navarro, who lit it up for 19 first-half points, making four 3-pointers. And it survived coach Mike Krzyzewski’s decision to play Chandler just 8 minutes, 42 seconds, despite Spain’s size edge and Marc Gasol (17 points) Pau Gasol (24 points) and Serge Ibaka (12 points) wreaking havoc inside.
With 37.6 seconds left, Coach K took out his key players and they all hugged on the court before heading to the bench. Afterward, James poured two bottles of water on Krzyzewski.
James was a pawn on that Athens team in 2004 and reflected on USA’s long road back to dominance.
“It’s definitely been a different attitude towards what it really means to represent your country,’’ James said. “I don’t think we all understood that [in 2004]. I think we were just putting on the uniform and thought we could just come together in three weeks and win. It was a long journey. From 2004, eight years later, we can say we have two gold medals and a [2010] world championship.’’
It took more than three quarters to shake free of the Gasol brothers. Paul hit a trey to open the fourth, then darted to the hole for a layup and 90-84 lead. Bryant hit two free throws, a big jumper, scored on a putback off an Anthony miss to make it 97-87 with 4:27 left.
“A bunch of individuals came together as a team,’’ Chandler said. “You can’t beat this Spain team as individuals because they’re not. They’re incredible. We showed tonight we’re not just individuals. We’re a great basketball team.’’
James sat with four fouls early in the fourth, but came back for Anthony with 3:20 left. He promptly drove to the basket for an emphatic righthanded dunk, then drained a trey with 1:59 to go, icing it at 102-93.
“I’ve seen him grow immensely,’’ Krzyzewski said. “He’s the best player, he’s the best leader. He’s the smartest player. What a year. He won an NBA championship, MVP and gold medal.’’
Navarro, a Spanish League superstar who hasn’t been in the NBA since 2008, got hot from the 3-point line in the first half and USA got tight. The Americans led by just 59-58 at halftime and a lot of American long faces headed to the locker room.
Krzyzewski told them to stop worrying about the officials and start worrying about the gold.
“We like our camaraderie but the Spanish team, we respect how long the players from Spain have been together since they were 19,’’ Krzyzewski said. “We know that Spain can beat us. They were excellent and not deserving of losing with their effort.’’
As the players wrapped American flags around them during the podium ceremony, it was pure glee.
“I was one of those kids that looked back on the 1992 team and said, ‘that is where I want to be,’ ’’ Anthony said. “And 20 years on, I am here winning the gold medal.’’
marc.berman@nypost.com