Reigning Olympic champion United States set up a mouth-watering gold medal rematch with Spain by thrashing Argentina 109-83 in the men’s basketball semifinal match on Friday.
Spain, which beat Russia 67-59 in its semifinal, lost 118-107 to the Americans in a close final at the Beijing Games.
The U.S. and Spain will play on Sunday for the title when Argentina and Russia battle for the bronze medal.
Argentina kept pace with the U.S. team throughout the first half on Friday, as it did in the preliminary round, trailing 47-40 despite falling behind 18-6 early in the game.
After the break, Argentina faded under some relentless offensive firepower.
Kevin Durant warmed up from three-point range and poured in four bombs as the U.S. team stretched its lead to 17 points going into the fourth quarter.
Carmelo Anthony took the baton from Durant and rained threes in the last quarter, sinking four in short order to pad the lead to 93-62 before the U.S. took their foot off the accelerator.
Bryant shines
In the first quarter, Kobe Bryant lit up the scoreboard with a series of four threes wrapped around a baseline drive he finished with a reverse dunk.
U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said he appreciated the willingness of his players to pass to the team-mate with the hot hand.
Argentina has been a thorn in the U.S. side over the past decade.
It became the first team to beat a U.S. squad featuring NBA players at the 2002 world championship, and two years later knocked the Americans out in the Olympic semifinals on the way to claiming gold at the Athens Games.
The U.S. answered by sending Argentina to the bronze game in Beijing and now in London.
Durant led the scoring for the U.S. with 19 points, with Anthony and LeBron James adding 18 apiece.
Argentine stalwart Manu Ginobili posted 18 points while Luis Scola and Carlos Delfino registered 15 points each.
The results: Men: Semifinals: Spain 67 bt bt Russia 59; United States 109 bt Argentina 83.
