Carmelo Anthony was taken aback by the moment and the emotions were too strong to hide. This feeling, the one following Team USA’s 96-66 victory Sunday afternoon to capture the gold medal, meant everything. Nothing could take it away.

“I committed to something…,” Anthony, emotional, started to say to NBC Sports.

A long pause followed.

Chants of “‘Melo! ‘Melo! ‘Melo!” could be heard in the background.

“I committed to this in (2004),” he continued. “I’ve seen the worst and I’ve seen the best, and I stuck with it, we stuck with it. At the end of the day, three gold medals later, I’m excited for me but also for the other guys who have never experienced anything like this.”

For Anthony, the New York Knicks star, the now Team USA all-time leader in points and rebounds, this was it, his final Olympic game. He went out in style, with head coach Mike Krzyzewski, with his third-straight gold medal,

“I just want to say thank you for allowing me to be one of the leaders, not just of the team, but of our country,” continued Anthony, who posted seven points and seven rebounds. “Despite of everything that is going on right now in our country, we have to be united.

“I’m glad I did what I did. I stepped up to the challenge. But this is what it is about, representing our country on the biggest stage that you can be on. America will be great again. I believe that. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but it’s one step at a time. I’m glad we represented it in the fashion that we did.”

Team USA, with a showcase of suffocating defense, closed the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in dominating fashion. There was no drama. Kevin Durant led the charge, scoring 24 of his game-high 30 points in the first half to take a 52-29 lead. DeMarcus Cousins registered a 13-point, 15-rebound double-double off the bench. Klay Thompson added 12.

“We fought. It wasn’t alway pretty,” Anthony said to the network. “We came together July 17 and we all committed for this one reason right now. It was a special moment for me.”

In numerical, but fitting fashion, Anthony, standing with his teammates atop the podium, was the last to receive the gold medal before waving to the crowd.

It was special indeed. Every last moment.