U.S. wins Americas tourney

LAS VEGAS -- LeBron James put a record finish on the Americans' dominance in the desert.

James scored a team-record 31 points, and the United States beat Argentina 118-81 on Sunday to win the FIBA Americas championship.

Dwight Howard made all seven of his shots and scored 20 points, and Carmelo 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 gold medal 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. But the Americans didn't let up, remaining perfect in four Olympic qualifers, including 7-0 against Argentina.

James finished the tournament shooting 76 percent from the field -- his percentage actually dropped from 76.5 after he made 11 of 15 shots. He was 8-of-11 from 3-point range and also led the tournament in that category, hitting 62 percent.

The game was close for 6 minutes before the United States blew it open with an 18-0 run. The Americans scored the final 15 points of the first quarter, then Chauncey Billups opened the second with a 3-pointer for a 38-14 lead. The Americans led 59-34 at halftime.