"There was pressure on us to win, but it was easy because we had the talent,'" Dominique Wilkins said Sunday after the United States' 137-91 rout of a fatigued and outmanned Russian team.
The first time at the World Championship for NBA players resulted in a clean sweep of eight games, with every victory by at least 15 points. It's the third world title for the United States, which also won in 1954 and 1986.
The United States made a habit of starting slow in their first seven games of the 16-team, 11-day tournament, but they put this game to bed early, making 16 of their first 17 shots and leading Russia 42-16 when the game was less than nine minutes old.
"We wanted to play our best early, and it was no contest," coach Don Nelson said.
After scoring just 40 points in the first half of Saturday night's 97-58 semifinal victory over Greece, the United States matched that just 8:19 into the final and went on to its highest point total of the tournament.
Russia, which lost to the United States 111-94 Friday night, was coming off an emotional 66-64 semifinal victory over favored Croatia, a game that ended just 15 hours before tip-off Sunday. The Russians also played without their best big man, Andrei Fetisov, who was not in uniform because of an injured right ankle.
"Last night's victory took everything out of us," Russia coach Sergei Belov said. "The desire was there, but we couldn't do it. Fatigue took away our strength, which is defense. But staying with these players for 10, 20, 30 minutes is an achievement."
Coleman, starting for just the third time, got the Americans going with a 3-pointer and a three-point play in the first minute of the game, and Joe Dumars followed with another 3-pointer for a 9-0 lead.
Coleman scored all of his 13 points during the 42-16 burst that started the game. The United States shot 71.8 percent (28-for-39) in the first half and led 73-40 at halftime.
"We got on the fast break and pushed the ball up court," Coleman said. "Russia played great against Croatia, but against us they were a little tired. I was really enjoying myself out there, just trying to take advantage of opportunities. I think this was the best game we played."
Wilkins, the oldest American player at 34, led the United States with 20 points. Shaquille O'Neal, who finished as the team's leading scorer with an 18.0 average and was tournament MVP, scored 18 in the final game, although he missed three 3-point attempts in the late going.
Alonzo Mourning scored all of his 15 points in the second half, and Shawn Kemp finished with 14.
The final-game blowout improved the United States' scoring average to 120.1, the equivalent of 144 points in a 48-minute NBA game.
The devastating first half took any drama out of the game for the crowd of 32,616 at SkyDome, the largest ever to see a basketball game in Canada.
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