The United States may have taken home the gold, but the Spaniards did not simply hand the hardware across to the Redeem Team like most expected.

The United States survived their tightest encounter of the Olympic tournament in the gold medal game, never really shaking a determined Spain team despite not having Raptors' point guard Jose Calderon on the floor.

The Americans had to put on a shooting clinic, finishing the game 13 of 28 (46%) from three-point range and an amazing 71% (13/28) from inside the arc, which in the end proved to be pivotal with Team USA winning the game by only 11 points, 118-107, but the margin was much closer than this for the majority of the game.

Dwyane Wade led the way with 27 points in the game, most of them coming in the first half while Kobe Bryant had 20 to go with 6 assists.

Bryant was particularly excellent in the 4th quarter when the game was tight, including a four-point play that sent Rudy Fernandez to the bench with his fifth and final foul.

For Spain, Juan Carlos Navarro (18 points) was effective, connecting on an array of teardrops inside the key to keep Spain close when the pressure was on while Pau Gasol (21 points, 6 rebounds) and Fernandez (22 points) were again are the forefront for the Spanish.

Spain trailed by only four points, 108-104, with 2:28 remaining in the game, giving the Americans their first real challenge in the fourth quarter of the Olympics.