Kobe Bryant, LeBron James Push Team USA Past Australia

Team USA powered past Australia for a 119 to 86 victory on Wednesday night on the power of strong performances from Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. The Americans now move into the semifinal round.

Bryant hit six 3-pointers on 10 attempts in the second half which led Kevin Durant to proclaim after the match:

“Somebody got him mad. I could see it in his eyes. I wanted him to kind of turn it on and that’s what he did.”

Bryant scored all 20 of his points after halftime.

On the same night LeBron James pulled off a triple-double just ahead of the “Dream Team’s” 20th anniversary gold medal win. Before the Olympics began Kobe Bryant declared that his 2012 London Olympics team

LeBron James finished the Australia match with 11 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists.

Adding to Team USA’s win was Deron Williams with 18 points, Carmelo Anthony with 17 points and Kevin Durant with 14 points.

Team USA and Argentina will now meet for their third straight Olympic semifinal match.

Australia had several strong performance from Patty Mills with 26 points and Joe Ingles with 19.

After the game Australia’s Mills said:

“The difference in the game was their transition buckets and 3-pointers, and Kobe got a little bit sniff. And for great teams, that’s all they need and they stretch it out.”

The winner of the USA-Argentina semifinal will go on to play either Russia or Spain for the gold medal.

Do you think Team USA has what it takes to win the gold medal at the 2010 London Olympics?