The Original Game » the lineup. ... Vancouver RW Jack Skille and D Alex

RIO DE JANEIRO -- For the fourth successive Olympiad, Team USA has beaten Spain in the knockout portion of the mens basketball tournament, booking a spot in the gold-medal game with a 82-76 victory in Friday afternoons semifinal. Hydro Flask Clearance .Heres our at-the-buzzer analysis from press row at the Carioca Arena 1:How it happened: Triple digits.Wilt Chamberlains stratosphere.One hundred points.That was the offensive target whispered within Team USAs ranks on the eve of this much-anticipated showdown with those familiar, stubborn foils from Spain.The coaching staff was privately convinced that the Americans had to at hit least 100, as they did in the gold-medal games in both Beijing and London, to ensure victory and seal an opportunity to send Mike Krzyzewski off with one more gold in his swan song on the Team USA bench.You can thus imagine how giddy Krzyzewski and his staff were that this group found another way -- several other ways, actually -- to get past the reigning European champions with Spain controlling tempo and keeping the score way down in the usual tense circumstances.DeAndre Jordan started opposite Pau Gasol and had the impact game of his life, proving an undeniable force inside with 16 rebounds, four blocks and numerous changed shots while logging 27 crucial minutes of a 40-minute game because of DeMarcus Cousins foul trouble. Klay Thompson had the hot hand offensively with a team-high 22 points. And Kyle Lowry chipped in with very solid backcourt play off the bench (nine points in 15 minutes) to help the offense when it sputtered.?And Team USA needed it all of it.The tournaments heavy favorites never led by more than 15 points and, truth be told, rode their 20 offensive boards and a 52-41 overall rebounding advantage -- with Jordan as the clear spark -- as much anything to finally put the Spaniards away.?Playing on a strained right calf, Gasol led Spain with 23 points and eight rebounds of his own but simply didnt have enough help to counter the Americans size and athleticism with brother Marc stuck at home as he continues his recovery from foot surgery.?Juan Carlos Navarro, at 36, had a handful of turn-back-the-clock moments at Gasols side, but Team USAs safe passage to Sundays championship game was essentially sealed with 2:16 to go, when one of the newest Philadelphia 76ers -- Sergio Rodriguez -- had a layup nullified for pushing off on Jordan when a 3-point play could have cut Spains deficit to six.Given the stakes as well as the level of the competition, Team USA got off to what surely ranks as its best start of the tournament, seizing a 26-17 lead by the end of the first quarter.The problem:?Kevin Durant?picked up his second foul with 15.3 ticks left in the period, with his third soon to follow on one of the six first-half techs dished?out by this painfully whistle-happy FIBA officiating crew.That the lead was still six points at intermission, at 45-39, was mostly down to Thompsons first-half brilliance (17 points) and the teams 13 offensive boards, creating extra scoring chances against Spains stingy D.Were dealing with talent vs. experience, Team USAs Paul George said coming in. Thats what this tournament is coming down to.Yet thats what made the victory so satisfying for Krzyzewski & Co. Amid all that reliance on its talent, Team USA unearthed some well-timed resourcefulness to go with it to trump Spains copious continuity and chemistry.The streak: Make it 75 wins in a row and counting for Krzyzewski. That includes 23 consecutive victories in Olympic play, 19 in FIBA World Cup tournaments, 10 in Olympic qualifiers and another 23 in exhibition games. The Americans previously tasted defeat in the semifinals of the 2006 FIBA World Championship against Greece, then launched this streak on Sept. 2, 2006, with a 96-81 victory over Argentina in the bronze-medal game in Japan.Play of the game: We have to glue two plays together here, with Kyrie Irving and Jordan heavily involved in both, to properly capture the moment.Irvings lob attempt to Jordan started the bizarre sequence. The pass was too high even for Jordans reach, but the most athletic big man in the tournament managed to bat the pass against the backboard in a fashion that Irving could corral an offensive rebound and score for a 59-50 lead.After a stop, Irving went into one of his inimitable dribbling routines along the left wing, spinning poor Sergio Llull into total confusion before skipping along the baseline and finding Thompson with a pass in the opposite corner.Thompson missed an off-balance 3, but Jordan emphatically slammed the ball home with a one-handed righty follow for a 61-50 lead, Team USAs biggest to that point.(Honorable mention:?Carmelo Anthonys?flying rejection of a Ricky Rubio drive early in the second half was a play out of Jordans locker far more than Melos.)Numbers game: Team USA is now 12-0 against Spain in the Olympics, its most wins against any one nation.Durant needed only seven points to become the second-leading scoring is U.S. Olympic history behind Anthony and was thus a lock to get there, having scored in double digits in all 14 of his previous games in the Olympics.But he was slowed by foul trouble after a fast start and had to settle for 14 points on 6-for-13 shooting, though that meant Durant was still able to give the USA Basketball scoring leaderboard yet another good shuffle:If the Americans win Sundays gold-medal game, theyll stretch the programs current winning streak to a record 76 games including exhibitions, besting the 75 wins in a row Team USA record starting with the Dream Team in 1992 until a loss to Argentina in the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis.Whats next: For the 16th time in its 18 appearances in the mens Olympic basketball tournament, Team USA is in the title game.The Americans will play Serbia in a rematch of the 2014 FIBA World Cup final in Spain after the Serbs, as the underdogs in Vegas, drubbed Australia, reversing a 15-point loss to the Aussies in group play in an 87-61 rout.The Aussies, of course, were the first team here in Rio to expose the United States vulnerabilities in a 98-88 defeat on Aug. 10. And now theyll have to beat Spain in Sunday mornings third-place game to win the first mens basketball medal in the countrys history after reaching the semifinals three times previously (1988, 1996 and 2000) and losing the bronze-medal game each time.The Aussies are trying to win their first Olympic? medal in basketball, having reached the semifinals three times previously (1988, 1996 and 2000) and losing the bronze-medal game each time.I will say this is the best chance we have of medaling, Australian legend Andrew Gaze told ESPN.com, stopping short of calling this the Boomers strongest-ever squad. Gaze made five trips to the Olympics, three of them after NBA pros were granted eligibility to participate starting with the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Hydro Flask 40 Oz Cyber Monday .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at Boston Strong - a citys recovery from tragedy. Hydro Flask Sale . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.waterbottlecybermonday.com/ . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff. OTTAWA, Ontario -- Mike Condon showed his new coach he was prepared to debut with the Ottawa Senators despite the circumstances.Condon, who was acquired from Pittsburgh on Wednesday for a 2017 fifth-round draft pick, made 27 saves as the Senators blanked the Vancouver Canucks 1-0 on Thursday night.Upon learning of the trade, Condon flew from Los Angeles to arrive in Ottawa in the early hours Thursday morning and managed to grab a few hours of sleep before meeting with Senators goalie coach Pierre Groulx in preparation for his first game with the Senators.Came as advertised, Senators coach Guy Boucher said. I was expecting nervous, but our goalie coach said hell be calm and thats exactly what he was. He was calm throughout the entire game.Condon made his first NHL start last year in Ottawa on Oct. 11, as a member of the Montreal Canadiens and posted a 3-1 victory.The Senators (7-3-0) couldnt say enough about Condons performance considering the situation over the past 48 hours.Coming in yesterday and then playing today Im guessing wasnt the easiest scenario for him, but he came in and played a heck of a game, said Mike Hoffman, who scored the games only goal. Hes a big reason we came out with two points.Jacob Markstrom made 23 saves for the Canucks (4-6-1), who have now lost seven straight (0-6-1) and have been shut out in four of their last five games.The Senators also shut out the Canucks 3-0 just over a week ago in Vancouver.Its disappointing, Canucks coach Willie Desjardins said. We played them better this time than we did at home. I thought we had a better effort, but at the same time weve got to find ways to score.Condon will likely get the nod in goal Saturday against Buffalo as Craig Anderson has taken an indefinite leave to be with his wife, Nicholle, who was diagnosed with cancer.Andrew Hammond remains sidelined with a groin injury and is expected to miss at least another week. Hydro Flask Black Friday. Despite having played just one period of hockey this season, Condon looked solid by making a number of key saves throughout the game. The Senators helped Condon by blocking 25 shots, including five by Erik Karlsson.Condon made a number of stops in the third to keep the Canucks off the board, including two on Jannik Hansen and Sven Baertschi.I know theyre a desperate team right now and we knew that coming in, Condon said. They like to throw pucks at the net from a lot of odd angles and that causes a little bit of chaos, but our defense did a good job boxing out in front of the net and not letting them get second opportunities so it was a good overall effort.The Senators relied on Condon early in the second as well as Vancouver dictated much of the play. Ottawa had just one shot on goal through the first 10 minutes of the period.We played a really good game and created enough chances for a couple (goals), but thats been the story so far this year, Vancouvers Henrik Sedin said. We realize its only Game 11 and we have to keep working and doing the same things and know its not a lack of chances.Ottawa made the most of a giveaway by Erik Gudbranson at the 14-minute mark of the second period as Markstrom tried to play the loose puck, but instead left a wide-open cage for Hoffman.This was the final meeting between the teams this season.Game notes Ottawa RW Mark Stone missed the game due to a neck injury, while D Chris Wideman was a late scratch due to an upper-body injury. LW Max McCormick and Fredrik Claesson were recalled from Binghamton and were in the lineup. ... Vancouver RW Jack Skille and D Alex Biega were healthy scratches.UP NEXT:Canucks: are at Toronto on Saturday.Senators: host Buffalo on Saturday. Wholeslae Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Cheap College Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap Baseball Jerseys ' ' '