Russian players react after beating Brazil, 75-74, in Olympic competition. (NBC)

Russia and Brazil offered the best game of the 2012 London Olympics so far. Most of the preliminary basketball games have been blowouts, but not this one. From start to finish, the game went back-and-forth and you’ll never see a better final minute of action in any Olympics hoops game.

It started with a turnover by Brazilian point guard Marcelo Huertas that gave the ball back to Russia with 44 seconds left and down by three. Russia guard Alexey Shved, who will play for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2012-13, tied the game at 72 with a clutch 3-pointer from the wing.

After a timeout, Huertas atoned for his earlier mistake and put Brazil ahead 74-72 with six seconds left on a clever off-balance scoop shot off a screen from Nene, the starting center for the Washington Wizards.

Russia coach David Blatt, who is an American-Israeli, drew up a beautiful sideline play that set up the game-winner. Shved inbounded the ball to a cutting Vitaly Fridzon, who was able to launch a 3-pointer despite being knocked off balance by Brazilian guard Leandro Barbosa.

Barbosa, who played for the Toronto Raptors last season, may have been trying to foul Fridzon before the shot, but the Russian foiled that plan and buried the dagger 3-pointer despite having his feet taken out by a diving Barbosa. Fridzon gave Russia a 75-74 lead with four seconds left. Brazil had one last desperation heave at the buzzer, but Barbosa’s shot hit the backboard and never had a chance of going in. Russia survives and stays undefeated with a one-point victory.

Andrei Kirilenko, who signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, led Russia with 19 points. Tim Mozgov (Denver Nuggets) had 18 and Shved finished with 17. Barbosa led Brazil with 16 points.

Kobe Bryant averaged 15 points per game in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The world may have gained ground on the United States in terms of basketball skill and talent, but the U.S. still has the perfect weapon against international competition: Kobe Bryant.

When the 2012 Summer Games kick off in London, the Americans will be favored to win the men’s basketball competition but they’ll get tested by international powers such as Spain (ranked No. 2 by FIBA), Russia (3), Argentina (4), Lithuania (6), Brazil (7),  and France (8).

Spain is led by the Gasol brothers (Pau and Marc), Russia has Andre Kirilenko and Tim Mozgov, Brazil boasts Leandro Barbosa, Nene and Anderson Varejao, and France is powered by Spurs star Tony Parker. Manu Ginobili and Luis Scola are the top guns for Argentina, the 2004 Olympic gold medalists, while Lithuania features Raptors rookie Jonas Valanciunas and Linas Kleiza.

“It’s a big challenge for us. The rest of the world kinda feels like the gap is continuing to shorten and they feel like they can beat us,” Bryant said. “We’re a fun bunch, joking around and laughing. But we know what’s at stake and we know what we’re representing. Come Olympic time we’re going to be ready to go and going to bring back the medal to the U.S.”

Because the U.S. is not familiar with a lot of the teams they’ll face in London, Bryant believes paying extra attention to detail is very critical to the team’s approach each and every game.

“In the NBA we do a great amount of preparation,” Bryant said. “Against these teams we have to do that even more because we don’t know most of their guys.

“We really have to do our homework and get to know their tendencies.”

Bryant’s supreme confidence was so contagious around the U.S. Olympic team in Beijing he almost single-handedly made everyone forget about the catastrophic loss to Greece in the 2006 World Championship (now renamed the World Cup of Basketball).

When the 2008 Olympic team — which included LeBron James, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Deron Williams, and Dwyane Wade — got pushed to the limit by Spain in the gold medal game it was Bryant who pushed right back and carried the U.S. to the finish line.

“He’s the ultimate competitor,” USA Basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski said of Bryant, who averaged 15 points in the Beijing Olympics. “He’ll do anything to help the team win. And in pressure moments there’s no one any better. He wants the ball or he wants to guard the ball. He was born to be in those moments, and he’s prepared himself for those moments.”

Kobe is one of the few NBA players whose game adapts seamlessly to the FIBA level. Having grown up in Italy, there’s a lot of European influence in Bryant’s game and he can play any style: inside, outside, 3-point shots, dribble drives. He also doesn’t shy away from physical play, which is a big adjustment for NBA players because of the inconsistency in officiating and the amount of contact that is allowed in FIBA tournaments.

At 33, this is most likely Bryant’s last Olympic experience. He would love to add another gold medal to go along with his five NBA championship rings. Like he previously stated, the U.S. will be challenged in London, but as long as the Black Mamba is on his game Team USA is in good hands.

Kevin Durant's game-high 33 points led U.S. to 89-79 victory over Russia in the quarterfinals at the FIBA World Championship. (FIBA)

On Sept. 9, 1972, Russia shocked the United States in the controversial gold-medal game at the Olympics Games in Munich, Germany. It was a bitter loss for the Americans, who still refuse to accept their silver medals because they all believe the game was taken away from them by the officials.

It was the United States’ first loss at the Olympics and signaled the beginning of Russia’s rise to power in basketball. For the last 38 years since that infamous game in Munich, each time the United States and Russia go head to head the game holds a special meaning.

On the anniversary of the Munich game, USA and Russia met in the quarterfinals of the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey.  Even though the Russians are no longer considered a powerhouse on the international stage and the intensity of the rivalry has been watered down since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia still presents a threat and the Americans certainly didn’t take the contest lightly during Thursday night’s matchup.

Kevin Durant made sure Team USA didn’t walk off the court disappointed as the Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star led all players with 33 points on 11-for-19 shooting to carry the U.S. to a 89-79 victory. Team USA will face either Lithuania or Argentina in the semifinals at Istanbul, Turkey.

Durant’s Thunder teammate, Russell Westbrook, provided a spark off the bench as 10 of his 12 points came in the third quarter and the U.S. outscored Russia, 26-17, in the quarter. Lamar Odom led the U.S. on the boards with 12 rebounds, and did a solid job in containing Russian 7-footer Timofey Mozgov (13 points).

After a shaky first half that saw the Americans hold a slim 44-39 lead, Westbrook went on a 7-0 individual spurt that included one 3-pointer and two thunderous breakaway dunks off steals. Chauncey Billups scored eight of his 15 points in the third, a quarter in which the U.S. led by as many as 15 and built a 70-56 advantage entering the fourth.

Despite getting caught up in a back-and-forth verbal joust with David Blatt leading up to the game, U.S. head coach Mike Krzyzewski was extremely complimentary of Russia and its head coach.

“I would like to congratulate Russia for playing such a terrific game,” Krzyzewski said. “Coach Blatt has had an amazing career coaching in Russia and the way his team played today shows the high quality of coaching he gives his players. I thought we were ready and played hard. It was a very well earned win against a terrific team with a great coach.”

Krzyzewski added: “They were playing good defense and we were not hitting the shots; the Russians seemed to be in control. The main thing I told my players in that timeout is just relax, there’s a long way to go. When you play against a team that never quits, you know they are going to play every possession and Russia did that.”

Blatt, who played at Princeton for Pete Carril and runs the “Princeton Offense,” took some heat for saying the Russians were the rightful winners of the gold medal at the ’72 Games, which infuriated Krzyzewski and USA Basketball officials.

Coach K fired back and said: “You know, he coaches the Russian team, so he probably has that viewpoint, and his eyes are clearer now because there are no tears in them. So, it’s great. Whatever he thinks, he thinks.”

After the 10-point loss to the U.S. in the quarterfinals, Blatt wished the Americans the best and applauded his coaching counterpart.

“I congratulate Coach K and his great staff and their wonderful team. One of the things that I mostly appreciate about USA Basketball under Coach K is that they recognize how to play the European game and still maintain that advantage that the American game gives them. We tried hard to stop them and there were moments that we were successful, but in all honesty, the game was in the control of the USA team.”

All postgame comments were courtesy of FIBA.com