Kobe’s team beats Pau’s, U.S. wins, 119-82

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

BEIJING -- So what did you expect, for Pau Gasol to lead Spain on Saturday to a victory over Kobe Bryant and the United States at the Olympics?

Of course, you didn’t. Some experts have predicted that Spain will win the silver medal here, and that might still be true, but the Spanish are not in the same league with the United States at these Games.

And if Spain can’t stay on the court with the United States, who can?

The United States’ next opponent, Germany, lost to China on Saturday, and you remember how the Chinese fared against the United States.

The United States beat Spain, 119-82, with LeBron James scoring 18 and Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony each scoring 16.

Gasol actually out-scored Bryant, 13-11. But Bryant spent much of the early part of the game on the bench in foul trouble. One of the more interesting moments of the first quarter came when he ran over Gasol while running through a screen.

Teammates? Not on this night.

-- Randy Harvey