Through six games in the 2008 Olympics, Jason and Team USA have at least one thing in common: They’re both perfect.

Jason hits one of two shots he took in the U.S. 116-85 win over Australia (Getty Images).

Team USA (6-0) advanced to the gold medal semifinals with a 116-85 victory over Australia in Beijing on Wednesday night. Jason continued his shooting success, going 2 of 2 from the field, and is still shooting 100 percent for the tournament.

Asked if he should do more shooting, Jason downplayed the baskets to reporters:

“I don’t want to push it. Don’t jinx me either. The big thing is I’m having fun and I am with a group of guys who are talented, so I don’t have to do any scoring. I just try to get those guys the ball.”

Jason even poked fun at himself:

“I probably surprised everybody. The whole world was probably shocked.”

No. 5 logged 16 minutes at point guard (four points, three rebounds, one assist) in the victory. Kevin Tresolini of the Delaware News-Journal quoted J-Kidd about the win:

“The big thing was, this was a great test against a very good team in Australia…We have to understand, it’s only going to get tougher the next game.”

The Aussies kept the game close in the first half, but the U.S. pulled away, going on a 14-0 run to start the second half. Jason spoke about his team’s second half success:

“We don’t panic. We keep our composure. We continue to execute the game plan. We get on one another. We push each other. That’s the beauty of this team. We care about one another. If somebody isn’t pulling their weight we pick them up until they get going. That first quarter, first half, we didn’t panic. We missed a ton of free throws. We knew what we were doing wrong and then we came out in the second half and we jumped right on them.”

BABY STEPS
With the victory, Jason and Co. moved one step closer to their gold medal dream. No. 5 addressed Team USA’s gold medal aspirations after the game:

“We haven’t accomplished anything yet. We’ve taken one baby step and now our next step is going to be tough. When we play… Argentina we will have our hands full. We’ll have to make sure that our defense is tight and remember that we are here for one thing and that is to win a gold medal.”

GOLDEN FEELING
J-Kidd said he told his teammates before the games started what to expect should they reach their goal:

“I’ve told the guys that at the Opening Ceremonies you get goose bumps and that once you receive that Gold Medal you might cry but that you will also get goose bumps. You understand and reflect on all the hard work that you put in and that nobody understands what you’ve gone through and that nobody can take that away from you.”

NEXT UP
Team USA advances to the gold medal semifinals, where they will take on Argentina (5-1). Argentina is the defending Olympic champion, having won the gold in 2004. They are also the team that the United States asked for, as noted by Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com.

Jason talked about where he and his teammates needs to improve:

“We know our next opponent is going to be tough,” he said. “We have to get better defensively, but keep playing at the high level we have been playing at. We have to continue to be unselfish and hopefully we should be able to come out on top.”

The game can be seen on tape delay Friday morning or live online at NBCOlympics.com.

RELATED STORIES
Team USA riding momentum of D-Will’s 3 into semis (ESPN.com, August 20, 2008)
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/basketball/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&page=US-Australia-080820
U.S. men easily move on to basketball semifinals (The News-Journal, August 20, 2008)
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080820/SPORTS18/80820036
Additional Quotes Team USA 116, Australia 85 (USA Basketball, August 20, 2008)
http://www.usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=08_moly_06_quotes
Team USA vs. Australia Boxscore (ESPN.com, August 20, 2008)
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/basketball/men/boxscore?gameId=818