USA 101, Argentina 81

BEIJING — The USA men's basketball team has been so good at thrashing opponents every which way throughout the Beijing Olympics that a nine-point halftime lead over Argentina in the semifinals  on Friday looked like a crisis.

The U.S. also has run teams out of games with such ferocity in China that, when Argentina was able to slow the U.S. pace, limit long misses, and force the Americans to run their halfcourt offense, it also looked like a crisis for the U.S.

The U.S. still beat Argentina, 101-81, behind Carmelo Anthony's 21 points and six others players scoring at least 10, at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium on Friday.

The U.S. still advanced, as expected, to Sunday's gold-medal game after dismissing the defending Olympic champions.

The U.S. will face Spain, which it beat by 37 on Aug. 18, at 2:30 a.m. ET on Sunday for all the bling (i.e. the gold medal), and all the chest-pounding — over a possible 13th Olympic gold medal for the U.S. — that goes with it.

Argentina will play Lithuania, which lost to Spain, 91-86, in the other semifinal, in the bronze-medal game at midnight ET on Sunday.