When a team dominates the way the U.S. men's basketball team had dominated coming into Wednesday's game against Australia, a challenge might qualify as a 20-point win, or maybe even a 25-point win. No one this side of Sydney thought the Aussies would push the U.S. team like they did, sitting within four points with under two minutes remaining. The U.S. held on, despite the Australians' tendency to play "a little dirty" (according to Paul George).
And while the U.S. risked its streak of 47 consecutive international victories, including 19 in a row on an Olympic stage, there's no doubt that they needed a game like this.