SAITAMA, Japan -- When Team USA started feeling that historic heat, the creeping grip of an unshakable loss, they went to the men with the rings.
Kevin Durant and Jrue Holiday, NBA champions, showed the kind of skill and poise that is absolutely vital in high-level basketball even on an August Thursday afternoon in a Japanese suburb.
Durant and Holiday didn't just break Australia's spirit in the Olympic semifinals, they lifted their entire team up around them in a brilliant performance that led to a 97-78 victory. It means a berth in Saturday's gold-medal game as the Americans will go for their fourth in a row.