BEIJING — Order is restored in international basketball. The United States is back on top, but not by much.

Culminating a three-year mission to end years of embarrassment, the U.S. Olympic team survived a huge challenge from Spain, winning 118-107 today in the gold medal game.

After overwhelming everyone for seven games, the Americans led by only four points with under 2 1/2 minutes to play. Then the U.S. proved it could handle a close game that seemed would never come in Beijing.

Dwyane Wade scored 27 points for the Americans, who found a much gamer Spanish team than the one it humiliated by 37 points earlier in the tournament. Kobe Bryant added 20 points.

Bryant converted a clutch four-point play with 3:10 remaining, holding his finger to his lips to quiet the rowdy Spanish crowd behind the basket.

Wade added another 3-pointer that made it 111-104 with just over 2 minutes left, and only then could the Americans relax a little.

They began to celebrate during a break after some technical fouls on Spain with 26 seconds left, then celebrated at midcourt when it was over.

Nobody else had been close to the Americans in Beijing. This team's only Olympic competition had been history, in a Dream matchup with guys named Jordan, Magic, Bird and the rest of the U.S. team that dominated the Barcelona Games in 1992.

Forget comparisons to those guys. The Americans were lucky to be better than Spain today.

Rudy Fernandez scored 22 points and Pau Gasol had 21 for the Spanish, the reigning world champions who were hoping to win their first Olympic gold.

WATER POLO

BEIJING — Hungary won a third consecutive gold medal in men's water polo today. Daniel Rudolf Varga and Peter Biros scored three goals apiece and the Hungarians beat the United States 14-10. Brandon Brooks, a Punahou alum, saw his first action in Beijing in goal for the U.S. He stopped 4 of 7 shots.

TRACK AND FIELD

U.S. GOLDEN IN RELAYS

BEIJING — Sanya Richards clutched this medal, stared at it, smiled at it. A few feet away, Allyson Felix did the same.

These weren't their first prizes of the 2008 Olympics.

But these were the medals the Americans wanted: Gold.

Producing precisely the type of superb runs they couldn't muster in their individual events, Felix and Richards helped deliver one of two U.S. victories in the 1,600-meter relays yesterday, allowing a team that failed to live up to its own expectations a chance to celebrate.

"We had ups and we had downs. Just wanted to end on a high moment," said Felix, who ran a strong second leg before anchor Richards had to overtake Russia's Anastasia Kapachinskaya down the stretch.

Nothing went wrong in the women's 1,600. Felix ran the fastest lap of any of the 32 women in the final, a 48.55-second split that put the United States in front. By the time Richards got the stick, though, Russia was in the lead.

Richards closed the gap and the U.S. finished in 3 minutes, 18.54 seconds — the fastest women's 1,600 since 1993.

The U.S. women's total of nine medals is their highest since 1992. The American men, meanwhile, finished with 14 medals, but only four golds, which is their fewest ever in Olympic track and field.

No. 4 came in the 1,600 relay, when Jeremy Wariner anchored the U.S. to victory in an Olympic-record 2:55.39.

In addition to padding the medal count, the twin relay wins made up for the gaffes two nights earlier, when both U.S. 400-meter teams dropped the baton and were disqualified in the semifinals.

In other medal events, Kenya raised its gold total to four when Nancy Jebet Langat won the women's 1,500 in 4:00.23, shortly after Wilfred Bungei won the men's 800 in 1:44.65; Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway won a second consecutive men's javelin gold with an Olympic-record heave of 297 feet, 1 inch; and Tia Hellebaut of Belgium won the women's high jump by clearing 6-8 3/4.

Today, Samuel Wanjiru pulled away over the final few miles become the first Kenyan to win an Olympic marathon. The 21-year-old negotiated the 26.2-mile course through the Beijing streets in bright morning sunshine in an Olympic record of 2:06.32. Jaouad Gharib of Morocco won silver in 2:07.16. Ethiopian Tsegay Kebede took the bronze in 2:10.00.

BASEBALL

BEIJING — South Korea captured gold and capped a perfect Olympic run with the country's biggest win yet in international baseball, a 3-2 victory over defending champion Cuba yesterday in the final. The South Koreans (9-0) pulled off what will long be remembered as an upset in baseball's last Olympic hurrah for at least eight years. Reliever Chong Tae-hyon got Yuliesky Gourriel to ground into a 6-4-3 double play with the bases loaded to end it.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

BEIJING — Lisa Leslie scored 14 points to cap off her illustrious Olympic career with a fourth straight gold medal and the U.S. women's basketball team beat Australia 92-65 yesterday. Leslie joined former teammate Teresa Edwards as the only basketball players ever to win four gold medals. The Aussies have now lost to the Americans in the gold medal game in the past three Olympics with all three defeats coming by double-digit margins. Russia took the bronze medal beating host China 94-81.

TAEKWONDO

BEIJING — Cuba's Angel Matos was winning 3-2, with 1:02 in the second round, when he fell to the mat after being hit by his opponent, Kazakhstan's Arman Chilmanov. He was sitting there, awaiting medical attention, when he was disqualified for exceeding the one minute he's allowed. Matos angrily questioned the call, pushed a judge, then pushed and kicked referee Chakir Chelbat of Sweden. Matos then spat on the floor and was escorted out. Then came this release from the World Taekwondo Federation: "Lifetime ban of the coach and athlete in all championships sanctioned by the (federation) and at the same time, all records of this athlete at the Beijing Games will immediately be erased."

DIVING

BEIJING — The Chinese divers came close, but they couldn't go 8 for 8 in diving. With seven down, all they needed was the men's 10-meter platform. But Matthew Mitcham of Australia earned four perfect 10s on his last dive for gold. The Americans, meanwhile, went 0 for 8 — not a single medal.

CANOE/KAYAK

BEIXIAOYING TOWN, China — China's Meng Guanliang and Yang Wenjun claimed their second straight gold medal in the men's 500-meter canoe double (C-2) yesterday. Other winners: Spain's Saul Craviotto and Carlos Perez in men's 500 K-2; Australia's Ken Wallace in the men's 500 K-1; Russia's Maxim Opalev in men's 500 C-1; Ukraine's Inna Osypenko-Radomska in women's 500 K-1; the two-time world champions from Hungary in women's 500 K-2; and a pair from Poland won the women's 500 K-2.

BOXING

BEIJING — Russian heavyweight Rakhim Chakhkiev and British middleweight James Degale were among the winners of the first five gold medals in boxing yesterday, as was Ukrainian featherweight Vasyl Lomachenko. Also, Thai flyweight Somjit Jongjohor won his first gold at age 33, and light welterweight Felix Diaz claimed the Dominican Republic's first boxing title with an upset of defending Olympic champion Manus Boonjumnong of Thailand.

TABLE TENNIS

BEIJING — China clinched all six individual medals, with Wang Liqin winning bronze in men's singles yesterday. China's Ma Lin outlasted teammate Wang Hao to take gold.

RHYTHMIC GYMNASICS

BEIJING — Russia won its third straight Olympic gold medal in rhythmic gymnastics all-around group today. The team scored 35.550 to edge China, which had 35.225 for the silver. Belarus got the bronze with 34.900.