LONDON - Spain's Pau Gasol scored 20 points and Rudy Fernandez added 17 to spark unbeaten Spain to an 82-70 victory over Australia in an Olympic men's basketball round-robin game here on Tuesday.
Gasol, a 2.15m (7ft) center who plays for the NBA Los Angeles Lakers, helped Spain top Group B alongside Russia with two wins.
Brazil could join them with a share of the group lead with a victory later over Olympic hosts Great Britain.
Fernandez, a shooting guard who recently returned to Real Madrid after a season with the Denver Nuggets, was hurt just before halftime when he fell under the basket chasing a loose ball and the back of his head struck the lens of a camera being used by a media photographer.
Australia took an early 19-14 lead before Spain answered with a 9-0 run for a 26-21 advantage on the way to a 37-32 halftime lead.
The Spaniards, who beat the Aussies twice in pre-Olympic exhibitions, scored the first 10 points of the second half and kept the Boomers at bay the rest of the way.
Joe Ingles and Brad Newley each scored 12 points for Australia while NBA San Antonio Spurs guard Patrick Mills added 11 in a losing cause. - AFP
source: gmanetwork.com
