Lebron James, Kevin Durant | featured news

Kevin Durant scored 30 points, LeBron James added 19 and the U.S. men's basketball team defended its Olympic title, holding off stubborn Spain 107-100 on Sunday for the gold medal -- just as the Americans did in 2008.

The hiccups outnumbered the highlights, and for a while the U.S. racked up fouls faster than points. The opener wasn't artistic. However, it was enough - easily enough. Kevin Durant scored 22 points in his Olympic debut, Kevin Love added 14 and LeBron James had eight assists as the American men's basketball team overcame some sloppy moments with a 98-71 win Sunday over France.

Kevin Durant delivered the fourth quarter LeBron James never could last year. So forget those NBA Finals jitters at the start. Durant and the young Thunder showed they have already figured out how to finish. Durant scored 17 of his 36 points in another nightmarish final period for James and his team, leading a Thunder storm that overwhelmed the Heat and gave Oklahoma City a 105-94 victory over Miami in Game 1 on Tuesday night.

The Kevin and Kobe show won it for the West at the NBA All-Star game, holding off LeBron James at the end.

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder top the Western Conference, while Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic and LeBron James of the Miami Heat lead the Eastern Conference after the first returns of 2011 NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile. Bryant, The Finals MVP last season, is the overall leader with 722,682 votes.