Through its seven games at the 2012 Olympics, the US Men's Basketball team has made a habit of letting teams hang around before pulling away with sheer firepower, and Sunday's gold medal game against Spain has been no different.
The US leads Spain, 59-58, at halftime, but the big story thus far: fouls. Spain's coach left Marc Gasol in after he picked up his third foul with more than six minutes remaining in the second quarter, but Marc picked up his fourth foul with more than half the quarter still remaining. It's a big loss for the Spaniards--they'll likely be without the younger Gasol for much of the second half and will need big minutes from Serge Ibaka and Fernando Reyes.
Both teams have combined to make 34 field goals, while 33 fouls have been called all told. Spain is getting the recipe needed to beat the US--hot three-point shooting and strange refereeing--and they still trail.
The Timberwolves' Kevin Love turned in nine points and six rebounds (5/6 FT) in the first half, while Kevin Durant leads the US with 17 points. Spain's Juan Carlos Navarro, who'd made only six threes all tournament, made his first three attempts and leads all scorers with 19, while Rudy Fernandez has 12.
For more coverage of today's final events, stick with this StoryStream, or head over to SBNation's Olympics hub.