Brazilian point guard Marcelinho Huertas is the key to FC Barcelona’s attack. (EUROLEAGUE.NET)

The Dallas Mavericks found out first hand just how good FC Barcelona Regal is, as the 2011 NBA champs went down 99-85 to the European powerhouse in an exhibition game at Palau Sant Jordi in Spain on Tuesday.

It is Barcelona’s third win in three tries against an NBA team, beating the Phildelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers in previous editions of NBA Europe Live. Forward Pete Mickeal (who attended the University of Cincinnati) and former Euroleague MVP Juan Carlos Navarro each had 19 points to lead all scorers. Center Nate Jawai had 13 while Ante Tomic and Marcelinho Huertas each contributed 12.

Chris Kaman led Dallas with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Darren Collison added 14 while Elton Brand had 10 for the Mavericks, who did not have Dirk Nowitzki. The Mavs All-Star was resting a sore knee.

Most NBA fans may not be familiar with FC Barcelona, but the Spanish club has been one of the dominant teams in Europe for the past decade, winning two Euroleague titles (2003 and 2010) and 17 Spanish League championships. The 2010 Barcelona squad is considered one of greatest Euroleague teams of all time, and it was led by Navarro, Mickeal, Fran Vasquez, and Ricky Rubio.

When Rubio bolted for the NBA, Barcelona turned the team over to another top-flight point guard in Huertas. ESPN basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla compares the 29-year-old Brazilian to Steve Nash in terms of ball-handling and play-making ability. Huertas, who is listed at 6-3, could easily make the jump to the NBA. But why would he? He would be wasted in the NBA because teams would be reluctant to hand him the reins of a team, and he’ll probably end up being a backup somewhere (much like FC Barcelona teammate Navarro, who rode the bench with the Memphis Grizzlies).

According to Draft Express:

Huertas is a small and skinny point guard, with solid quickness, excellent ball-handling skills, and the ability to change speeds on the fly and get to the basket at a very nice rate. Once known as a fairly wild player (like many Brazilian guards), Huertas has matured over the last few years, and now looks much more patient and under control, making excellent decisions on the pick and roll in particular, getting everyone on his team involved unselfishly (in a variety of ways), pushing the ball up the floor well, showing excellent court vision, and also being able to score the ball himself when things broke down offensively. He has a nice mid-range game, and is a decent shooter from 3-point range, nothing spectacular (his release is not very quick), but enough to keep defenses honest and prevent them from going underneath screens on the pick and roll.

Against the Mavericks, Huertas had three assists and two steals in 36 minutes. He was also 8-for-8 from the free throw line.

Alex Abrines helped Barca take an early 35-27 lead, but the Mavs stormed back thanks to Kaman and Shawn Marion. Dallas trailed 42-40 at halftime. Barcelona rolled after the break, as a put-back layup by C.J. Wallace made it a double-digit game at 59-49. Navarro and Mickeal powered the European club to a 68-51 margin in the third quarter. Dallas managed to get to within six at 89-83 with three minutes to go, but Tomic and Navarro stepped up in crunch time to seal the victory.

Head coach Sergio Scariolo led Spain to a silver medal in the London Olympics. (GETTY IMAGES)

The U.S.-Spain titanic showdown in the gold-medal game lived up to all the hype. The game hung in the balance until the final quarter when Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James made crucial baskets to give the U.S. enough separation from a very game Spanish squad led by Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, and Juan Carlos Navarro.

The United States held off Spain, 107-100, to win its fifth gold medal in men’s basketball in the last six Olympics.

Even though the U.S. was the better team and certainly deserved to be crowned Olympic champions, Spain has to feel incredibly disappointed in the outcome because it pushed Team USA to the limit only to watch the game slip away thanks to few curious decisions by Spanish head coach Sergio Scariolo.

With about six minutes left to play in the first half, Spain center Marc Gasol picked up his third foul. That usually leads to a quick substitution, but Scariolo inexplicably left Gasol on the court for another two minutes and the 7-footer — who plays for the Memphis Grizzlies — picked up his fourth foul while trying to grab a rebound. The game was close and there was no need for Gasol to be in the game. That mistake proved costly because Gasol was forced to sit the entire third quarter, in which the U.S. surged ahead and built a small lead, and did not check in until early in the fourth quarter.

Another questionable move came late in the fourth when Scariolo junked Spain’s 2-3 zone defense in favor of a box-and-one gimmick to try to slow down Kevin Durant. The move is not out of the ordinary, but Pau Gasol said Spain had never practiced that type of defense.

The confusion caused a breakdown on the back end, including a play when two Spanish players stuck with Durant and left LeBron with a wide open lane for an easy dunk.

Despite all of Scariolo’s questionable decisions, the Spaniards still had a chance to win the gold medal and it took some clutch baskets by Chris Paul and LeBron James to avert one of the biggest upsets on Olympic history.

Paul scored seven of his 11 points in the final quarter, including a tough scoop shot with 50 seconds left that even got Coach K off his chair. Paul’s layup gave the U.S. a 104-93 lead, and the 11-point cushion proved to be too much of a deficit for Spain, which has now lost to the U.S. in back-to-back gold-medal games in the Olympics.

Durant had a spectacular game for the U.S., leading all scorers with 30 points. His 156 total points in the tournament set a new Olympic record, moving ahead of American Olympic stars Spencer Haywood (1968), Charles Barkley (1992), and Michael Jordan (1984).

Durant was so good in the gold-medal game Spain paid him the ultimate compliment by junking their normal 2-3 zone defense and switching to a box-and-one scheme in the fourth quarter to try to cool down the Oklahoma City Thunder star, who had 27 points through three quarters.

But Durant also got plenty of help from LeBron (19 points) and Kobe (17 points). Kobe saved his best games in the knockout round while LeBron capped off a sensational summer by becoming the second player to win NBA regular-season MVP, NBA Finals MVP, NBA title and Olympic title in the same year, joining Jordan.

France’s Nicolas Batum lost his cool against Spain in the quarterfinals of men’s basketball at the London Olympics. (GETTY IMAGES)

For a country known for being good lovers instead of good fighters, France unleashed its dark side and took it out on Spain.

Nicolas Batum and Ronny Turiaf, two players who don’t have thuggish reputations in the NBA, lost their cool at the end of a heated quarterfinal men’s basketball game at the London Olympics won by Spain, 66-59.

The shenanigans started with 24 seconds left when Turiaf shoved Rudy Fernandez at midcourt. It was a hard foul, but because Fernandez definitely embellished the contact — as he is known to do in his career — the Spaniards thought an unsportsmanlike personal foul should have been called on Turiaf.

On the next in-bounds play, Batum gave the Spaniards something to really cry about as he took a swing at Juan Carlos Navarro and his schoolyard-like wild right punch landed on Navarro’s groin. Apparently, groin shots are becoming real popular in London (see Carmelo Anthony and Argentina).

Afterwards, Batum told Yahoo! Sports writer Adrian Wojnarowski he wanted to give Navarro “a good reason to flop.” The Spaniards’ dubious reputation for flopping has irked the Portland Trail Blazers forward and his French teammates.

Batum’s low blow capped off a very frustrating game for France. It led for much of the ballgame, but struggled to find the basket in the fourth quarter. Batum made a running shot with 6:50 left in the fourth to give France a 57-54 lead. That was France’s last field goal until Mickael Gelabale broke the 6:45 scoring drought with five seconds left in the game.

Pau Gasol ignited the 12-2 fourth-quarter run for the Spaniards when he rejected Nando Di Cola’s layup and that defensive play led to a dunk by Sergio Llull to give Spain the lead for good at 58-57. Spain’s defense was superb in the fourth quarter, holding France to just six points in the quarter and forcing 11 straight misses in the last six minutes. In one key possession, Tony Parker had his jump shot blocked by Fernandez and then Ronny Turiaf’s follow-up under the rim was stuffed by Pau. A great defensive stand by a team not known for lockdown defense.

Spain stretched the lead to 62-57 with 45 seconds left when Pau found his younger brother, Marc, under the basket for a layup that essentially cinched the victory and a trip to the semifinals. The Gasol brothers combined for 24 points and 19 rebounds. Parker led France with 15 points.

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (third from left) joins an already loaded Spanish national team. (FIBA EUROPE)

The final game of the 2011 European Championship turned into a huge block party for Serge Ibaka.

In his first major international competition wearing the colors of the Spanish national team, the 21-year-old Oklahoma City Thunder forward had half of Spain’s 10 blocked shots against France and helped Espana capture the EuroBasket title in Lithuania. Spain and France earned automatic berths for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Ibaka scored just four points in 21 minutes off the bench, but it was his stellar defense that keyed an impressive 98-85 victory for Spain, the second-best team in the world and the biggest threat to the United States next summer. Ibaka completely altered the game with three early monster blocks in the first half that powered Spain to a 36-26 lead.

Barcelona’s Juan Carlos Navarro led the Spaniards with a game-high 27 points. Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol added 17 points and 10 rebounds, while San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker paced France with 26 points.

The addition of the 6-foot-10 Ibaka gives Spain, which already boasts 7-footers Pau and Marc Gasol, the most formidable frontline in the world – even better than whatever the U.S. will put together next year. Ibaka prefers to face-up on offense, and he doesn’t mind giving way to the post to the Gasol brothers.

Ibaka calls Pau Gasol possibly the most talented center with the best fundamentals in the NBA. “It will be a dream to play with him,” Ibaka told the Associated Press back in July.

Flashback to the gold medal game against the U.S. in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in which Spain struggled to keep up with the Americans athletically, especially when LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony played power forward. With Ibaka on the roster, Spain will no longer have that issue.

Ibaka was granted Spanish nationality in July, clearing the way for him to help Spain defend its European championship. “Spain is a country that has given me a lot,” Ibaka told the Associated Press. “It will be an honor to give Spain back all that it has given me on the court.”

Ibaka was born in the Republic of Congo but played for Spanish clubs for three years before moving to the NBA in 2009. He maintains a residence in Barcelona.

Marc Gasol, who had a solid year with the Memphis Grizzlies last season, won't have his older brother Pau at the 2010 FIBA World Championship but that shouldn't stop Spain from contending for the gold medal. (GETTY IMAGES)

The year 2010 has been very kind to Spain.

In June, Pau Gasol won his second NBA championship with the Lakers. A few weeks later, Rafael Nadal won his second Wimbledon title. In July, Alberto Contador captured his third consecutive Tour de France title and the Spanish soccer team won its first World Cup.

It has been a banner year for Spain so far, and the country’s great karma could continue at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey, which begins Aug. 28.

Despite not having its best player Pau Gasol – who has decided to skip the FIBA World Championship this summer to give his body some much-needed rest – Spain remains one of the favorites to capture the gold medal in Turkey because of three reasons: center Marc Gasol, Pau’s younger brother who is slowly blazing his own trail in the NBA; shooting guard Juan Carlos Navarro, the reigning Euroleague player of the year; and his Euroleague teammate point guard Ricky Rubio.

Both men gave the United States fits in last Sunday’s exhibition game in Madrid, a game narrowly won by the U.S. 86-85. Navarro had 20 points to lead Spain and Gasol had 17 points and had his way against the Americans in the low post.

For years, Marc Gasol, nicknamed “El Tanque,” has played in the shadows of his much celebrated brother. But the last couple of years, Marc has come into his own and had a breakout season with the Memphis Grizzlies last year.

The 25-year-old Barcelona native averaged career highs in points (14.6), rebounds (9.3) and field-goal percentage (58%) last season – his second as an NBA pro – and has become one of the central figures in the Grizzlies’ youth movement. The 7-foot-1, 270-pound big man is a much more physical player than his older brother. He could very well be the best post-up player at the World Championship in Turkey, and now is a good time to break out of his brother’s immense shadow.

Marc Gasol may not have his sibling on this year’s Spanish national team but he’ll have his basketball brethren with him, including veteran guard Navarro. Nicknamed “La Bomba” for his big-time long-range shots, Navarro has been a fixture on Spain’s national team for 10 years.

“For many years Juan Carlos and I have known each other and we are like brothers,” Marc Gasol told FIBA.com. The 30-year-old Navarro, a former member of the Memphis Grizzlies who led FC Barcelona to a Euroleague title last season and is the reigning Euroleague Final MVP.

“Being in the same room as Juan Carlos is like being with my brother Pau, because they are very similar,” Gasol added. “I have a lot of affection for Juan Carlos.”

Juan Carlos Navarro will captain Spain at the 2010 World Championship in Turkey.

Indeed, the camaraderie at Spain’s training camp appears to be good, with Rudy Fernandez and Rubio together like old times at DKV Joventut, and Felipe Reyes and Jorge Garbajosa also hanging out just as if they were with Real Madrid.

Spain is a close-knit group, the core of the squad has been together for at least four seasons and much of the roster remains the same when it won the gold medal at the 2006 World Championship. Navarro, the team captain, told FIBA.com that he has a good feeling about the squad. “Most of the group is the same as last year,” he said, referring to the team that took gold at last year’s EuroBasket. “We know each other well and the know the style of play.

“We must try to play like last year and have a mind to defend. Then with our quality in attack we have everything.”

With the injury to Jose Calderon, who appears to be out of the World Championship because of a leg injury, Rubio will assume the starting role at point. Rubio showcased his talents against the U.S. in the exhibition game earlier this week in Madrid. His length bothered the guards and his passing off pick-and-rolls exposed the big men. Rubio will make a huge impact at the World Championship, no doubt.

The rest of Spain’s starting lineup includes Navarro at shooting guard, Fernandez on the wing and Garbajosa and Marc Gasol in the frontcourt. Spain has a NBA-type roster that can match up against any team, including the United States. Its five starters took part in the 2008 Beijing Olympics (minus Pau, of course), losing to the United States in the gold-medal game, and nine of the 12 players on the squad are either playing in the NBA of was drafted by an NBA franchise.

Spain and the United States are obviously the two favorites at the World Championship, and Spain could have a slight edge because it has a much more experienced group and Team USA doesn’t not have a whole lot of size to match up with Marc Gasol in the middle.

But Navarro downplayed the importance of the highly anticipated matchup with the United States and didn’t discount the other teams in the tournament.

“Hopefully we can play them, as that would mean we have gone a long way in the championship, but now it is a bit early to talk about it,” he said. “There are many contenders. Argentina, the United States, Serbia, who had a great tournament last year, but it is too early to think about that now. We are only in the early stages of workouts and there is much work remaining.”

Olympiacos point guard Milos Teodosic was voted the 2009-10 Euroleague MVP after a breakout season. Teodosic, who led Olympiacos to the Euroleague Final against Regal FC Barcelona, was joined on the 2009-10 All-Euroleague First Team by Olympiacos teammate Linas Kleiza at forward, Regal FC Barcelona guard Juan Carlos Navarro, CSKA Moscow forward Viktor Khryapa and Partizan Belgrade center Aleks Maric.

It is a first-time honor for all but Navarro, the 2009 Euroleague MVP and 2010 Euroleague Final MVP, who was named All-Euroleague First Team for the fourth time. Kleiza, who played for the Denver Nuggets last season, won the Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy. Khryapa received the Euroleague Best Defender Trophy and the Rising Star Trophy went to Ricky Rubio, 19, of Barcelona, the youngest winner of an end-of-season award ever in the Euroleague.

Ricky Rubio led Regal FC Barcelona to victory in the 2010 Euroleague Final.

Rubio was the fifth overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft, but opted to play in Europe. The Minnesota Timberwolves hold his draft rights. Rubio and Navarro, teammates on Spain’s national team, recently led Barcelona to a victory in the Euroleague Final over Olympiacos.

The 2009-10 All-Euroleague second team featured Bo McCalebb of Partizan at point guard, CSKA forward Ramunas Siskauskas, forward Josh Childress of Olympiacos, forward Erazem Lorbek of Barcelona and center Tiago Splitter of Caja Laboral. Siskauskas, the 2008 MVP, is a second-team selection for the third time. He was also on the first team and was MVP in 2008.

Lorbek, the 2005 Rising Star, is on the second team for the second time. Splitter is also on the Second Team for the second time and was a member of the 2008 All-Euroleague First Team. Childress, who played for the Atlanta Hawks for four seasons, and McCalebb, a Euroleague rookie, are both first-time honorees.

Euroleague.net contributed to this report.

Juan Carlos Navarro was the captain of the Spanish national team that competed in the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey. (FIBA)

Like most European sensations, Juan Carlos Navarro wanted to try his luck in the NBA. He played one season with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2007-08, teaming with fellow Spaniard Pau Gasol.

The Grizzlies acquired Navarro’s draft rights from the Washington Wizards – which selected the Spanish guard with the 40th overall pick in 2002 – and believed he would be a good fit for an up-and-coming team that needed some savvy veterans.

Navarro appeared in all 82 games for the Grizzlies, starting 30 of them. He averaged 10.9 points per game in 26 minutes and shot 40.2% from the field and 36.1% from behind the 3-point line – his specialty.

But Navarro’s NBA career was short-lived. After Gasol – his friend and teammate on Spain’s national team – was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008, Navarro didn’t like where the Grizzlies were headed and began planning a return trip to Europe.

His home team of nine years, Regal FC Barcelona, made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. The contract was reportedly worth $20 million for five years, which dwarfs what the Grizzlies paid him ($538,000) for his one-year service.

Juan Carlos Navarro won the Euroleague regular season MVP in 2009 and captured the 2010 Euroleague Final MVP after leading FC Barcelona over Olympiacos. (REUTERS)

For the past two seasons, the man they call “La Bomba” has rediscovered his touch and reasserted himself as one of the elite players in Europe. Navarro won the Euroleague’s MVP in 2009 and recently led FC Barcelona to an 86-68 victory over Olympiacos in the 2010 Euroleague Final in Paris. Navarro scored a game-high 21 points in the final game and was named Euroleague Final Four MVP.

It was FC Barcelona’s second Euroleague championship, and Navarro has been a part of both titles.

He was a role player on the Barcelona team, anchored by MVP Dejan Bodiroga, that won the Euroleague title in 2003. Seven years later, Navarro has not only become the face of FC Barcelona – along with fellow Spanish superstar Ricky Rubio – but he has emerged as arguably the No. 1 player in Europe.

“I am very happy to be here. All our hard work has paid off,” the 30-year-old Spaniard told Euroleague.net. “We did a very good job and I am very happy for my teammates. We stepped on court ready to play such an important game.

“My first Euroleague title was special because it was the first for the club, but being a more important player this time, this is just as special, too.”

Navarro is a unique talent. He is not blessed with great size (listed at 6 feet 4 but probably closer to 6-2) and quickness, but he finds various ways to score. Not only is Navarro a great outside shooter, but he also has an unstoppable one-handed runner or floater that is very difficult to stop and frustrates defenders because it’s an off-balance, unorthodox shot on the move. The San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker and Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose have this shot in their arsenal, and more and more point guards are practicing it.

Navarro is currently participating in the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey. When Gasol decided to skip the worlds and rest his body after a grueling NBA season with the two-time NBA champion Lakers, Navarro was named captain of the Spanish national team. He led Spain in scoring (16 points per game) during the preliminary round and shot 54% from the field – 40% from 3-point range.

Though Spain finished a disappointing 3-2 in Group D it still managed to advance to the round of 16, where it knocked out tournament heavyweight Greece, 80-72, in a heated game. Navarro made seven of 10 field goals against the Greeks, including a crucial 3-point shot with less than two minutes to play in the fourth quarter that sealed the victory.

Navarro had plenty of help in the game against Greece. Rudy Fernandez scored five of his 14 points in a 9-0 Spain run midway through the fourth quarter that pushed Spain’s lead from one point to 10 points. Fran Vazquez and Felipe Reyes combined for 12 points and 17 rebounds off the bench.

Spain advanced to the quarterfinals where it will face Serbia, which defeated Croatia 73-72 in the round of 16.

Dimitris Diamantidis and Nikos Zisis each had 16 points to lead Greece. After the game, Diamantidis told reporters that he is retiring from international competition.

Greece has now lost to Spain in the last four major FIBA tournaments. Spain defeated the Greeks in the final of the World Championship in 2006 and in the semifinals of EuroBasket in 2007. Spain also beat Greece in the preliminary round at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and again defeated the Greeks in the semifinals in Poland last year.