Team USA closes out Argentina with no respect, which is what they deserved. The Americans win 109-83. Team USA is headed to the gold medal game against Spain. We’ll back then.

Durant drills another three and Chris Paul comes back on the next play and finds Tyson Chandler on a lob. Chandler has done nothing but good in this tournament. Team USA up 26 with four minutes left.

First Kobe, then Durant and now Carmelo killing it from three. This team is so fun to watch.

Team USA’s defense picked up near the end of that third and the Americans will take a 74-57 lead into the fourth quarter. They can’t let up defensively here because they have a big lead. If they do, Ginobili will bring Argentina back. Team USA needs LeBron and Durant back on the floor to keep the space between the two teams. And even though it probably won’t happen, I’d love to see Chandler come in here and change the game with his defense and rebounding. He’s done it every possession he’s been in so far.

LeBron and Durant taking the game over on both ends of the floor. LeBron finding Durant everywhere on the floor and he responds by burying threes. Durant also doing a solid job with his one-on-one defense since his shot started falling. Team USA up 17 now.

LeBron once again. This time on and driving dunk that nets him a foul. Team USA is back up 13 and they have the momentum on their side. They’ll need to lock in defensively to close the quarter.

Great sequence from LeBron, making the extra pass twice in a row to get a Kevin Durant three. Durant has nailed a couple in a row to put Team USA up 13 here. Argentina has responded each time Team USA has been in this position before but the Americans have it in them to make a knockout blow, here.

Ginobili with six early points in the third. Team USA not getting any separation right now.

LeBron found Kevin Love under the basket for an easy lay-in but Manu Ginobili hits a three right before the buzzer to make it a seven point game. 47-40, Team USA leads. Two more quarters to secure their spot in the gold medal game. I’m looking forward to seeing Chandler for at least one spurt, here. I think Coach K made a mistake not bringing him back out after his initial minutes. Durant will also need to step up his game a bit. Team USA needs one more scorer to put their mark on the game to put Argentina away.

Team USA is up eight on Argentina with 19 seconds left in the first half. They’ve got the ball and a shot to stretch the lead before the buzzer sounds.

Team USA back up 10 because of the play of their starters. Kobe is in an excellent rhythm right now.

Starting line-up giving Team USA some more life but I’m still waiting for some more minutes for Chandler.

Team USA will take a 24-19 lead into the second quarter against Argentina. Kobe started out hot for the Americans but the second unit wasn’t able to keep things up. Hopefully Durant or Carmelo will be able to have a scoring binge in the second quarter to give Team USA the jolt of life they need on that end of the floor right now. I’d also like to see Chandler back in. He was doing a great job protecting the paint and he can do a number on the offensive boards if Argentina stays in the zone.

Argentina now with four. Zone starting to have negative effects for Team USA. They aren’t getting great looks or getting second chances.

Team USA got sloppy for a few minutes and Ginobili and Delfino have buried threes to bring the game back to five.

A Durant steal and dunk puts Team USA up 15-4 early on here against Argentina. Kobe already has a pair of threes, a reverse dunk and a dive for a loose ball. He’s having quite a game so far. Tyson Chandler also having a subtle impact on the boards on both ends. Everything working for the Americans right now.

Kobe is all over the place early on. Awesome second half and the Dwight trade have refueled him.

Argentina is starting off the game in the zone. Kobe busted it with a three on the  first possession and Tyson Chandler hurts them with an offensive rebound on the next. Team USA will need to crash the offensive glass to get them out of the zone.

Getting ready to tip here in the final semi-final game of the tournament. Team USA will need their starting unit to come out strong against an Argentina team playing for everything with no pressure on them. Kobe will need to do some work on Manu Ginobili early to get him in foul trouble or tire him out. If Bryant can slow him a bit, Argentina’s whole attack will suffer.

Hello all and welcome to the liveblog. A win today secures Team USA at least a silver medal and a chance to win gold in a rematch of the 2008 gold medal game against Spain on Sunday. Spain was able to get by Russia thanks to a second half downpour from three-point range and some energized play from the Gasol brothers. Russia couldn’t buy a bucket in the second half and even though they had a chance to make a comeback late in the game, Andrei Kirilenko bricked free throw after free throw and wasn’t able to make his presence felt all game long.

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