U.S. beats Spain 102-94 Stephon Marbury scores an American Olympic-record 31 points to pace Team USA into the semifinals. • FULL STORY

"Don't point your finger at me! Don't point your finger at me!" It didn't take an expert lip reader to interpret what U.S. coach Larry Brown was saying to Spanish counterpart Mario Pesquera during their dust-up after Team USA's win Thursday.

Enraged over what he felt was an unnecessary timeout by the U.S. late in the game, Pesquera went after Brown, wagging his finger like Dikembe Mutombo, as the two teams were leaving the floor. Brown should have walked away from the confrontation, but it doesn't change the fact that Pesquera was out of line.

As my SI.com colleague Jack McCallum pointed out, there are several legitimate reasons why Brown would have called timeout in that situation. Thirty seconds is plenty of time to overcome an eight-point lead, especially the way the U.S. has handled the ball throughout this tournament. I'm sure Brown would have been glad not to call a TO if Pesquera had agreed to pull back his defense and let the Americans run out the clock.

At any rate, Team USA's victory over Spain on Thursday was filled with good signs for the Americans. The U.S. played better, smarter and more cohesively than it has at any other time in Athens. Even more important -- especially for its future prospects -- the team finally made some outside shots, giving the U.S. reason to be legitimately optimistic as it tries to salvage its gold-medal hopes. The team also displayed a new gear, a playoff-type intensity that showed up for the first time on Thursday. They attacked the zone better, driving baseline and finding big men on the move toward the basket. And their defense, though still not great, forced more turnovers and easy scores at the other end.

But as well as the U.S. played, it would be a mistake to think its problems have been solved.

In some ways, Spain was the perfect opponent for this U.S. team. It plays an NBA style, with a power inside game and less reliance on the 3-point shot. Team USA can handle that kind of game. Its problem seems to be matching up against those scrappy, share-the-ball teams with multiple three-point shooters.The Americans' next foe (Argentina in the semifinals, and most likely Lithuania in the finals) will be much more likely to exploit that vulnerability.

The U.S. continues to struggle on defense, collecting fouls in bunches and bricking free throws. Spain managed to score 94 points on Thursday, hitting 34-of-70 from the floor (49 percent). Even with Tim Duncan sitting out most of the first half with foul trouble, that's too many points allowed for a U.S. squad that relies on defensive stops and fast break opportunities.

As for foul shooting, Team USA finished 11th out of 12 in that department during the prelims (64.4 percent), and hit just 18-of-25 from the stripe on Thursday.

Add all of that up and it is clear why the U.S. was never able to pull away comfortably from Spain on Thursday.

Ironically, the largest cloud hanging over Team USA's hopes is in the area in which it made its greatest improvement Thursday, hitting 12-of-22 (54.5 percent) shots from three-point range. For a team that came into the game having hit just 21-of-89 (23.6 percent) from downtown, it's a radical improvement. Too radical. Maybe the U.S. is better than 23.6 percent, but it's not likely to burn the nets like that again. That's why Brown should have just sidestepped Spain's Pesquera on Thursday and headed straight to the locker room.

If there's one thing he has to do before Friday's semifinal, it's make sure his players don't get overconfident. Otherwise, Brown could find himself saying "Don't point a finger at me!" to an American public demanding answers for another embarrassing Olympic defeat.

Marty Burns covers pro basketball for SI.com.