By Pete Thamel

c.2008 New York Times News Service

BEIJING — USA Basketball completed its extreme makeover Sunday with a totally new Olympic experience. In defeating Spain, 118-107, for the gold medal, the Americans persevered in their first wire-to-wire competitive game of the 2008 Olympics.

After two weeks of being so dominant that they bordered on boring, the United States and Spain engaged in an old-fashioned global shootout.

It was a game as aesthetically pleasing as it was engaging, as Spain’s talented roster showed it was much better than the 37-point blowout they endured during pool play.

But the United States answered every run, as Spain cut the lead to as small as two points in the fourth quarter.

And after ending a tough test, the so-called Redeem Team ended the game with a fitting gesture. Starting with LeBron James, they approached the NBC commentator Doug Collins to slap hands. Collins was a member of the 1972 U.S. team that lost controversially to the Russians.

After the tribute, the Americans bounced up and down at the midcourt circle like a bunch of giddy teenagers who had just won a collegiate national title. Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” played over the loudspeakers and chants of “USA, USA” echoed through the arena.

And while flashbulbs popped around the arena, the United States had already done a little posing. The final dagger fittingly came from Dwyane Wade, who cemented his status as the best American player on this trip with 27 points off the bench. Wade took a kickout pass from LeBron James and made a left wing 3-pointer to boost the American lead to 111-104 with 2 minutes 2 seconds remaining. Wade stayed in that spot for a second and posed with his hands on his hips and a cocksure grin.

That picture-perfect moment came after Kobe Bryant twice bailed out the Americans from Spanish runs. Spain stayed in the game thanks to a flurry of Juan Carlos Navarro teardrops, Pau Gasol lobs and Rudy Fernandez 3-pointers. In its most vulnerable moment of the tournament, U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski called time out after a Fernandez 3-pointer with 8:13 remaining in the fourth that cut the Americans’ lead to 91-89.

Bryant made 13-foot runner in the lane and then kicked out to Deron Williams for an open 3-pointer. He then dished to Dwight Howard for a dunk and answered Fernandez’s 3-pointer with one of his own. He held up his right arm on his follow-through for emphasis.

Bryant, who finished with 20 points, then quieted the pro-Spain crowd again with 3:10 remaining when he scored another 3-pointer over the Spanish zone. He drew a foul on Fernandez for a 4-point play and perhaps more importantly fouled out Fernandez, who led Spain with 22 points.

The victory for the United States marked their first gold medal in international competition since the Sydney Olympics in 2000. The humiliations of the 2002 World Championships and 2004 Olympics along with a stunning loss to Greece in the medal rounds of the 2006 World Championships are now distant memories. The United States showed its world superiority, though this game proved that the gap between America and the world likely is not as far as the 30.2 average margin of victory through the first seven games may have indicated.

The Americans needed to shoot 60 percent from the field to defeat the Spanish. That included hitting 70 percent of their 2-point field goals and 46 percent of their 3-pointers.

Spain, which also received 21 points from Pau Gasol, shot 51 percent from the field.

By holding on, the United States changed it image from that of petulant, overpaid superstars to that of a cohesive team of high-paid players who swallowed their egos, guarded with tenacity and restored USA Basketball’s credibility.

“You can always lose a game,” the U.S. assistant coach Jim Boeheim said. “One game. One time. It can always happen. That’s going to happen. But you just don’t want to look bad like we did in 2002 in Indianapolis and 2004 in Athens. It wasn’t just that we lost. That was a small part of it, really. We want to be known as having a good attitude and off-court stuff. And we want to win.”

And by winning, the legacy of this team may be restoring some much-needed cache to playing for the national team. Of the eight core players on this team, five of them said they would definitely return to London in 2012 — Bryant, Williams, Howard, Chris Paul, and Chris Bosh. The other three core team members, who also happen to be the only Athens holdovers — James, Wade and Carmelo Anthony — said they would make a decision when it is time to.

But for the Americans, Sunday was more about a celebration of a revival than a peek to the future. After being the world’s whipping boy for eight years, the Americans are going to take a minute to enjoy the view from the top.