Team USA wins FIBA championship

LAS VEGAS – LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony finally earned the reward that used to await U.S. players.

James scored 31 points, most by an American player in an Olympic qualifier, and the United States capped its dominance in the desert by beating Argentina 118-81 on Sunday to win the FIBA Americas championship.

Then James and Anthony climbed the podium and were given gold medals – a first for the two players whose international careers had consisted of nothing but bronze.

“I’m tired of bronze,” Anthony said. “I’m speechless right now. This is my first time ever winning the gold medal.”

Dwight Howard made all seven of his shots and scored 20 points, and Anthony added 16 points for the Americans, who were never challenged while winning 10 games in 12 days and will head to Beijing next summer as one of the favorites.

The Americans averaged 116.7 points in the tournament.

The game was largely meaningless, because both teams had already clinched spots in the Beijing field by winning semifinal games Saturday.