Although he has been the veteran leader Team USA expected of him, Kobe Bryant has yet to play like the international superstar basketball player that everyone expected of him coming into the London games.
Bryant silenced his critics and broke open a tight quarterfinal game tonight against Australia by knocking down six 3-pointers in the second half as the U.S. won by a margin of 119-86 to secure a semi-final birth.
“Somebody made him mad. I could see it in his eyes,” American Kevin Durant said. “I wanted him to kind of turn it on and that’s what he did.”
Even though Lebron James put up a rare triple double in the win. The story of the night was Kobe’s breakout performance. Teammate Carmelo Anthony in a good humor tried to take credit for Kobe’s performance…
“I kind of knew what button to push with him. I was talking to him at halftime and in the third quarter and I guess I pushed the button. He woke up and to see that, I’ve been on the other side of the ball and had that situation before,” teammate Carmelo Anthony said.
Bryant, a top-five scorer in NBA history, brushed away Anthony’s attempts to take credit as easily as the questions he’s been hearing in London.
“He was just saying, ‘Let’s see what we see during the season.’ But by that point, I was already revved up,” Bryant said.
Patty Mills scored 26 points and Joe Ingles had 19 for Australia, in a losing cause. Unfortunately for Australia this knocks them out of medal contention for the second straight Olympics after being defeated by Team USA.
