Olympic roundup: Kobe's 20 second-half points led U.S. into semifinals

As the shot fell through the net, Kobe Bryant held up three fingers on each hand. It was his third straight 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, enough for the U.S. men's Olympic team to finally put away stubborn Australia.

Yes, all's fine with Bryant, and the Americans' gold medal hopes, as well.

Bryant silenced his critics and broke open a tight game with six 3-pointers in the second half Wednesday night as the U.S. advanced to the semifinals of the London Games with a 119-86 victory over Australia.

"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."

On a night when LeBron James had a triple-double, Bryant scored all of his 20 points after halftime, finally delivering the kind of game expected of him in London.

James finished with 11 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists for the Americans, who advanced to their third straight Olympic semifinal meeting with Argentina, which beat Brazil earlier Wednesday. Deron Williams added 18 points, Anthony had 17 and Durant 14.

Russia plays Spain in the other semifinal.

Track and field: Brittney Reese claimed the long jump title. Team USA had two of the top three finishers in three of the four medal events at Olympic Stadium. World champion Lashinda Demus was second in the women's 400 hurdles, losing to Russia's Natalya Antyukh.

Usain Bolt and Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake each won their 200 semifinal heats. Bolt is trying to become the first man with two Olympic golds in the 200 meters.

Covered from head to toe, except for her smiling face poking out from her headscarf, Sarah Attar became the first woman from Saudi Arabia to compete in track and field at the Olympics when she clocked 2 minutes, 44.95 seconds in her 800-meter preliminary race.

The 19-year-old Attar finished last in her heat. To her, the time wasn't the point.

Her mother is American and her father is Saudi. She has dual citizenship, was born in California and runs track at Pepperdine University.

Attar wanted to represent Saudi Arabia at the Olympics as a way of inspiring women.

"For women in Saudi Arabia, I think this can really spark something to get more involved in sports, to become more athletic," she said. "Maybe in the next Olympics, we can have a very strong team to come."

Making her Olympic debut three years after being forced to undergo gender tests, Caster Semenya of South Africa finished second in her 800 heat.

Semenya was sidelined for nearly a year while track and field's governing body decided whether to allow her to compete after she won the 2009 world title at age 18. She was tested and eventually cleared to return to action in 2010, then was the runner-up at last year's world championships.

Volleyball: The U.S. men's volleyball team got off to a strong start at the London Olympics, but it's headed home without a medal.

The defending Olympic champions lost 28-26, 25-

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