Spain Can Only Watch

United States Dominates Reigning World Champion, Clinches Top Seed: United States 119, Spain 82

BEIJING, Aug. 16 -- Carmelo Anthony crept down a hallway at Wukesong Indoor Stadium, playfully trying to find the bathroom where teammate Dwyane Wade was taking a random drug test. Minutes later, LeBron James shouted to Anthony over print reporters that he was off to be interviewed on television "because my face belongs on the ti-zube!"

After making a mockery of their first four opponents in these Olympics, the U.S. men's basketball players have taken to mocking one another.

Saturday's 119-82 thrashing of Spain did nothing to dim the Americans' mood.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski called Greece and Spain "two of the top teams in the world" -- and neither came within 23 points of the United States.

Spain is the reigning world champion and boasted several current, former and future NBA players. But unless the Spaniards were trying to lose with the intent of avoiding Argentina in the semifinals -- which is highly unlikely -- the rest of the teams might want to start playing for second place.

"I think they sent a message to everybody in the tournament. They let everybody know that they are for real," said Spain forward Pau Gasol, a member of the Los Angeles Lakers and an NBA all-star in 2006. "They are playing with a purpose, and that purpose is to win and show everybody else they are superior. That's the bottom line."

The Americans played their most complete game against Spain, improving to 4-0 and clinching the top seed in Group B for the medal round quarterfinals. They again used relentless pressure defense to create 28 turnovers (13 more than Spain's average entering the game) and got on the break for easy layups and dunks (the United States outscored Spain 32-0 in fast-break points). They also mixed in some three-point shooting, which had been missing in their previous decisive wins over China, Angola and Greece. The Americans made 12 of 25 three-point attempts against Spain after shooting a tournament-worst 29.2 percent (19 of 45) in its first three games combined.

Anthony broke out of a mini-slump, making 4 of 6 three-pointers and finishing with 16 points; he had scored 23 points in the first three games combined.

"I was asked, where has my offense went? It ain't go nowhere," Anthony said. "It's the same shots I was taking in the last couple games. They just went in. That comes from putting in extra work in practice, before practice, getting in a little better shape. I'm going to continue doing that until the tournament is over."

Point guard Chris Paul also had his best game with 14 points, 8 assists, 5 steals and 5 rebounds. Jason Kidd finally scored his only two points of these Games in the third quarter, when his layup gave the United States a 24-point lead and practically served as the equivalent of a puff on a victory cigar.

The Americans have won their four games by an average of 28 points.

"Our goal is go out every night and dominate," center Dwight Howard said. "We're not going to let up. We're trying to get ready and win a gold medal, no matter how well we play."

At some point in these Olympics, a team might find an area where the United States is vulnerable and attack it. A weakness might be exposed, and the Americans won't know how to counter. The Americans have to remind themselves of such cautions, because after overwhelming opponents with their quickness and athleticism in their first three games, they showed few flaws against Spain.

"We had some unforced errors," James said, offering his critique.

The United States has yet to face Lithuania and Argentina, the top two teams from Group A, and it might see a highly motivated Spain in the final, but Anthony said people should not be surprised by the lopsided outcomes of these games.

"Look at our team," Anthony said with a laugh. "Each game, we don't know if we're going to be tested or not. We came into the Greece game, thought we were going to be tested. Spain game, thought we were going to be tested."

Anthony was asked if he could imagine a scenario in which the United States breezes through this tournament with a dominance that hadn't been seen since 1996. He flashed a smile and said, "If at the end of the tournament, that's where we are, we'll take that."