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He made a 3-pointer, batted away a pass and chased it down along the left sideline. Feeling a rhythm that had been missing, Bryant pulled up and dropped another 3 that made it 70-58.
Two shots in 18 seconds was all it took.
Bryant was back.
"Somebody made him mad. I could see it in his eyes," Durant said. "I wanted him to kind of turn it on and that's what he did. That was the first time we've seen it here. He got so upset, and when he does that he's in another world.
"It was just a matter of time."
Bryant laughed when told there were doubters back home.
The Aussies knew he was dead serious.
"Kobe got a little bit sniff," Patty Mills said. "And for great teams, that's all they need and they stretch it out."
Mills scored 26 points and Joe Ingles had 19 for Australia, which had the misfortune of running into the U.S. in the quarterfinals for the second straight Olympics.
By the time Bryant got done, even the Australian fans were cheering for him as he walked to the locker room, bumping fists with a Aussies' kangeroo mascot wearing boxing gloves.
This was another knockout, albeit one in the late rounds, for the Americans.
All that's between the U.S. and a gold medal now is Argentina, a dangerous team with swagger and experience, and a matchup with the Russia-Spain semifinal winner.
The Americans have tangled with the Spaniards before, beating them in the gold-medal game four years ago. A matchup with Russia would rekindle Cold Ward memories and the 1972 final in Munich, when the U.S. had its 63-game winning streak stopped amid a controversial ending still debated today.
The U.S. has shown moments of vulnerability in this tourney. Not many, but a few.
It came in as the team to beat, and through six games, that hasn't changed.
"We don't have no weaknesses," Anthony said. "None."
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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