Saturday, August 23, 2008; Page E01
BEIJING, Aug. 22 -- Dwight Howard elevated for dunk when Argentina's Carlos Delfino whacked him across the face, chopping down on his nose. Howard lost the ball and his faculties for a moment, and Carmelo Anthony quickly came to Howard's defense, angrily charging after Delfino.
Jason Kidd decided to get involved, too. So he lunged into the ruckus, delivering a vicious body check to knock back . . . Anthony?
"I wasn't going to do anything," Anthony said. "I just wanted to protect my big man. He's still young, so I got to protect my little brother."
Kidd didn't want to take any chances. The U.S. men's basketball team had made it through the first seven games of the Olympics without being tested mentally or physically, but Argentina provided both in the Americans' 101-81 victory Friday at Wukesong Indoor Arena. The victory put the United States one victory from claiming its first gold medal in eight years, with a rematch against 2006 world champion Spain set for Sunday.
During the third quarter, when the U.S. offense could have continued to sputter and tempers easily could have escalated, Kidd reminded people why a 35-year-old man with declining speed and a suspect jump shot had an important role on this roster of young, transcendent talent.
"He's been in this position before," LeBron James said, "so it never got to him."
The "it" James was talking about is the pressure of playing in a hostile Olympic environment, with the crowd rooting against you -- which happened for the first time. "It" also could have referred to the extra elbows, shoves to the back, and arm grappling Argentina was forced to rely upon after its star, Manu Ginóbili, left early in the game because of a sore left ankle.
Kidd, a member of the Americans' previous gold medal-winning team in Sydney in 2000, has a 45-0 record in major international competitions (three Olympic qualifying tournaments and two Olympics). He has experienced greater tests in the Olympic semifinals -- he defended Lithuania's Sarunas Jasikevicius when he missed a three-point attempt in the Americans' 85-83 escape in Sydney -- and been around long enough to know what Argentina was trying to do. He wanted to keep his teammates from getting suckered into it.
"I understand international [basketball]. They want you to lose your composure, so that you will go one-on-five, and in a tight game, that gives them a chance to beat you," Kidd said. "Melo's an emotional guy, and we all understand -- we're not going to take that away from him. But at the same time, we need him out there on the floor. For everybody to understand that, and be right there to nip it in the bud, that's what I'm here for."
Kidd has mostly been a ceremonial starter in the Olympics, averaging just 1.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists, with U.S. Coach Mike Krzyzewski relying more on the young duo of Chris Paul and Deron Williams. But Kidd is with the team to provide floor leadership and poise, something the team desperately needed as it led by just nine points at halftime -- the closest margin of the tournament. After building an early 21-point lead, players rushed shots and tried to attack Argentina's zone by settling for the first open three-pointer available. In the locker room at halftime, Kidd challenged James to be a little less unselfish and told Anthony (team-high 21 points) to stay aggressive.
When he came out on the floor, Kidd immediately tried to get the ball inside to Howard, then he worked it to James and Anthony, finding weak spots in the zone and setting up easy baskets or free-throw opportunities. When Kidd sat for a break with 4 minutes 40 seconds left in the period, he had distributed three of his game-high seven assists, and the United States was ahead by 16.
"He's the first guy I went to in the locker room. I said, 'That was, by far, your best game.' He really was a great leader for us," Krzyzewski said. "The start of the second half was critical for the win, and I think Jason was the primary guy making that happen."
After the game, the locker room was filled with giddy players, already eager to get on the floor against Spain. Dwyane Wade told his teammates that a gold medal would be greater than the NBA championship he won with Miami in 2006. Kidd again had to calm down his teammates.
"Don't think about the gold medal," Kidd said he told them. "We have to kind of bottle that energy and keep it under wraps. I think these young guys have done extremely well in the dress rehearsal and now it's real, come Sunday."
Kidd was originally going to be on the 2004 Olympic team in Athens but backed out after knee surgery. He smiled when asked what it felt like to be back with a chance to become the 12th U.S. player to win two Olympic gold medals.
"I'm happy. I picked the right horses," Kidd said. "It's a great honor to be a part of this team. I'm 35, this is my last go 'round, and to go for a gold medal and play with this group of guys is unbelievable."
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