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BEIJING — The gold medal belongs again to the USA.

The U.S. men's basketball team beat Spain 118-107 at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium on Sunday to secure a 13th Olympic gold medal for the USA.

Spain held on throughout the game, trailing by four with about two minutes left in the game. Dwyane Wade hit a 3 with 2:02 left then a Kobe Bryant drive and four Chris Paul free throws kept the Spaniards from getting any closer.

Kobe Bryant has been treated like a rock star by the Chinese people throughout the Games. Friday, the real business of why the Redeem Team is here gets under way.

The U.S., led by Bryant and LeBron James, faces Argentina, the team that beat the Americans in the semifinals of the 2004 and went on to the gold medal, in a rematch in the 2008 semis.

The game is on NBC live Friday at 10:15 a.m. EDT.

— Mike Persinger

BEIJING — At some point in this men's basketball competition at the Beijing Olympics, nearly every player on the U.S. team has seized a moment or two for his own.

If you're Argentina, that has to make you nervous.

Not every U.S. player has had his turn.

BEIJING — Los Angeles Lakers teammates Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol are battling for the same medal — gold — for their respective counties, the U.S. and Spain, at the Beijing Olympics.

But NBA business is never far from their minds. The Lakers drafted Gasol's younger brother Marc, in the second round of the 2007 NBA Draft then traded his rights to the Memphis Grizzlies this past season in a trade that sent Pau Gasol to Los Angeles.

Marc, 23, is a 7-foot center who's also playing well for the Spanish national team.  Listen to Bryant talk about what the younger Gasol, who has played for Winterthur FC Barcelona nad Akasgayu Girona in the Spanish professional league the past four seasons, will add to the Grizzlies.

BEIJING — That killed the buzz.

The U.S. destroyed any illusions Spain might have had about being a close second favorite in the men's basketball competition at the Beijing Olympics with a 119-82 Pool B victory over the defending World Champions at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium on Saturday.

USA forward LeBron James scored nine of the Americans' first 16 points, while the U.S. forced Spain into boo-boo after boo-boo and beat Spain to the other end to score.

BEIJING — The U.S. is playing Spain in the hottest game of pool play at the Beijing Olympics, which is being touted, yes, by me and the rest of humanity, as a possible gold-medal game preview. The U.S. is favored to win the gold. Spain is the defending world champion.

Since they last played each other at the 2004 Athens Games, we finally get to see how they stack up. Here are some numbers to chew on before the 10:15 a.m. ET start:

minus 0.4 — The U.S. is getting outrebounded by an average of 0.4 boards per game (37.3 to 37.7).

0 — Number of times Spain has beaten the U.S. in eight tries in Olympic action.

1 — Number of times the U.S. and Spain have met in the Olympic gold-medal game. The U.S. beat Spain in 1984. The silver for Spain in Los Angeles was its highest-ever Olympic finish.

10 — Spain has outworked its opponents by an average of 10 rebounds per game (41.0 to 31.0).

17.7 — Points per game average for Pau Gasol, who leads the Spaniards in scoring.

18.3 — Points per game average for Dwayne Wade, who leads the U.S. in scoring.

19.3 — Number of assists, on an average of 37 made baskets, the U.S. records per game.

Unknown — Number of Chinese who dig on U.S. guard Kobe Bryant.

BEIJING — USA guard Kobe Bryant sent messages in two languages to the nation of Spain in advance of tonight's USA-Spain basketball game at the Beijing Olympics.

Bryant will be facing a team led by his L.A. Lakers teammate Pau Gasol, Spain's leading scorer at 17.7 points per game.

(Sorry, meant to translate. Bryant said, "Good luck. We'll see tomorrow.")

BEIJING — USA forward Chris Bosh ran out and blocked Greek guard Vasileios Spanoulis at the 3-point line as the buzzer sounded to end the first half of the USA-Greece men's basketball game on Thursday.

That was about the size of it for Greece at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium.

The Americans were too quick, too athletic, too determined to avenge a 2006 loss in the World Championships to let the Greeks get away with much in a 92-69 victory at the Beijing Olympics.

BEIJING — Ever wonder what it might be like to ride a bus with a gaggle for NBA stars on their way to a game?

According to Kobe Bryant, riding with the USA men's basketball team here in Beijing on their way to games and practices is kind of a loud experience.

Here the L.A. Lakers star discusses that and why he didn't bring his iPod to Beijing.

BEIJING — It was interesting watching USA forward LeBron James, who had just tickled a USOC press conference crowd with a little shoulder shake and shimmy, talk about what being American means to him on Friday.

James had to answer for America, too, when one non-American reporter asked if he would do more to help the U.S. win the popularity contest, the one it's currently losing, with the rest of the world. You'll hear James sidestep that one in the audio below.

But talking politics at event meant to promote peace is more of a conundrum for high-profile Olympians like James or USA teammate Kobe Bryant.