FIBA World Championship Final: USA vs. Turkey

Gold is hanging in the balance.

After a couple of months of work, with plenty of commentary highlighting their shortcomings, Team USA has played about as well as could be expected and now finds themselves in the FIBA World Championship game with an unblemished record in the tournament.

The U.S. team adavanced to the final by beating Lithuania 89-74 led by an offensive masterpiece by Kevin Durant. in the quarter finals, Durant has a quiet 33 points, but against Lithuania the show was on and Durant put up an I-just-want-to-make-sure-everyone-knows-I'm-the-best-player-in-this-tournament 38 points.

Turkey advanced to the final in the thriller, when Kerem Tunceri picked up a mess left by Hedo Turkoglu drive attempt and making a layup with less than a second to play for the 83-82 win.

Istanbul will be rocking today inside and outside the arena when the two teams take the floor. The games starts at 2:30PM on ESPN and ESPN3.com.

After the jump, a few links of interest from the WCs along with Jermaine O'Neal talking in regular season form.

• AP: Lithuania vs. United States - Recap
• Notes from USA 89, LTU 74
  John Schuhman remains all over the Team USA run to the gold medal game.
• Kevin Durant Stars as Team USA Moves Within One Game of Gold
  Chris Tomasson on the U.S. win.
• One Giant Moment: Turkey Advances to FIBA Final at Home
  Chris Tomasson on Turkey advancing to make the FIBA final a doozy.
• 2010 World Championship: USA-Turkey preview
  Chris Sheridan wonders how Coach K will use his guards.
• A monumental day on and off the hardwood for Turkey - Jack McCallum - SI.com
  Jack McCollum on the huge hoops day ahead in Istanbul.
• Americans face difficult challenge as Turkey thinks upset | NBA.com
  John Schuhman previews the final.
• Team USA will need more than Kevin Durant in World Championship basketball final
  Charley Rosen warns the U.S. will need to fire on all cylinders to beat Turkey.
• Taking a Cab Ride in Turkey? Beware the Magic Button -- NBA FanHouse
  Chris Tomasson shares some experiences from Istanbul.
• O'Neal is reaching for the ring
  Julian Benbow find Jermaine O'Neal talking the talk as he prepares for his first season with the Boston Celtics.