Australia fought hard to keep the USA in check, but had no answer once Kobe Bryant found his stride and he inspired his team to a 119-86 success. Bryant finished with 20 points, Deron Williams had 18 and Carmelo Anthony 17. Kevin Durant added 14, LeBron James 11 and Kevin Love 10. Patty Mills led Australia with 26 and Joe Ingles had 19. Argentina held off a late rally to beat South American rivals Brazil 82-77 and make it to the semi-finals for the third straight time. Luis Scola led Argentina with 17 points while Manu Ginobili and Carlos Delfino had 16 each, Ginobili also grabbing eight rebounds. Andres Nocioni scored 12 and Jonas Gutierrez 11 in a balanced offensive showing. Russia progressed to the last four after defeating Lithuania 83-74, and will next face Spain. Lithuania, three-times bronze medallists, scored 18 points in the final five minutes of the third quarter to go from 46-32 down to 54-50 going into the final period. When Rimantas Kaukenas hit a three-pointer to open the fourth period, the gap was just one. But Russia dug deep to pull out the win. Spain emerged from a hard-fought quarter-final against France 66-59 winners. Marc Gasol led Spain with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Juan-Carlos Navarro had 12 points, and Pau Gasol collected 10 points and 11 boards. Tony Parker and Boris Diaw had 15 points each for France.
