well as four points in six games at the Olympics, not looking the least bit

BILBAO, Spain -- American players paused from their warmups to stand and face their New Zealand opponents as they performed the haka, their traditional war dance challenge. The U.S. response wasnt nearly as interesting. Just pound the ball inside and outmuscle an overmatched opponent. Anthony Davis had 21 points and nine rebounds, Kenneth Faried added 15 and 11 boards and the U.S. remained unbeaten at the Basketball World Cup by beating winless New Zealand 98-71 on Tuesday. James Harden scored 13 points for the Americans, who will play two more games in Bilbao before moving on to Barcelona for the round of 16. They face the Dominican Republic on Wednesday before wrapping up Group C play on Thursday against Ukraine. "It was a good, solid performance," U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "I thought the intensity was excellent." Two nights after having to rally from a halftime deficit and pull away in the fourth quarter for a 98-77 victory over Turkey, the U.S. led this one wire to wire. The game was close only for a little more than a quarter. BJ Anthony scored 11 points for New Zealand, which fell to 0-3. "It was pretty awesome getting to play against these guys. These are guys that we watch on TV all the time," veteran forward Casey Frank said. "To be able to get out there on the court against them and have a little bit of success offensively, obviously the result didnt go our way, was pretty awesome." The Tall Blacks best work was before the game with their haka. Krzyzewski said U.S. players were aware it would be part of the pregame and they lined up to face midcourt as the New Zealand players got into their formation. "We actually were going to shake hands with them afterwards because we knew that that was a really neat thing to do and its part of their tradition, and we admire that," Krzyzewski said. Fans enjoyed it, then were largely quiet throughout the first half as the bigger U.S. team imposed its will, not needing the kind of highlight plays fans expect of the NBA stars. But there was no shortage of energy from Faried, the Denver Nuggets forward who seems intent on raising his profile as a largely overlooked player in the league. The Manimal came into the game shooting 14 of 17 in the tournament and then made all five shots in the first half while also grabbing six rebounds. He finished 7 of 9 from the field and is shooting 81 per cent, Krzyzewski calling him the Americans "biggest and best surprise." "Im just playing out there," Faried said. "Im just having fun. Im just playing my game, having fun, enjoying life." He was just as active on defence, getting called for a third-quarter goaltend on a shot he blocked with such force that it landed behind the New Zealand bench. Stephen Curry finished with 12 points for the U.S., getting his shot to fall after going just 4 of 17 through the first two games. Golden State Warriors backcourt mate Klay Thompson also scored 12 and Kyrie Irving had 10. It was 27-20 after one quarter and the Americans were ahead by nine in the second before a 12-0 run, featuring seven points from Irving, made it 50-29 on Farieds follow shot with 4:14 left. The Americans got into transition during that flurry, but were often content in the first half to dump it inside, taking advantage of Davis and Farieds muscle in the middle. Harden said the Americans are happy to ride their big men, rather than the recent LeBron James-Carmelo Anthony-Kevin Durant squads that made the wing scorers like himself the feature. "Weve got 12 guys that can score the basketball at any given moment," Harden said, "and tonight and every other night the focus is defence, and whoever scores the basketball, its USA points." Harden had a couple of baskets early in the third quarter -- he and Davis both throwing down impressive dunks -- and the Americans kept building the lead en route to their 57th straight victory. Derrick Rose started for Irving in the second half, Krzyzewski saying he wanted to get the former NBA MVP more minutes with the starters as he returns from nearly two seasons out with knee operations. Rose shot just 1 of 6 but Krzyzewski praised his performance. Adidas NMD Baratas Originales . Al Horford said all he had to do was make the catch near the basket and then shoot a soft jumper. Adidas NMD España . Joel Embiid was nearly unstoppable in the paint in the second half, and Naadir Tharpe seemingly couldnt miss. http://www.baratasnmd.com/ . But luckily for the Canadian squad, one goal was all it needed. Winnipegs Sophie Schmidt scored the winner off a Diana Matheson corner kick to seal Canadas third-place spot in the Torneio Internacional de Futebol Feminino in Brazil on Sunday. Adidas NMD R1 Mujer Baratas . Balotelli was out at dinner with his brother Enoch and came home to discover he had been burgled. The car was later found abandoned. Balotelli wrote Saturday on Twitter: "I feel empty! No emotions . Comprar Adidas Gazelle Baratas . MacArthur scored two goals, and the Senators outlasted Detroit in a testy third period to beat the Red Wings 4-2 on Saturday night.The Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues all augmented their free agent classes by signing some European free agents. Numbers Game examines the signings of Petri Kontiola, Leo Komarov, Jiri Sekac and Jori Lehtera. The Maple Leafs Sign: C Petri Kontiola and LW Leo Komarov. Komarov is a familiar face for the Maple Leafs, a 27-year-old winger who was a regular in the Leafs lineup in 2012-2013 before returning to the KHL for a nice payday last season. Komarov had a strong year in the KHL, with Moscow Dynamo, leading the team with 34 points in 52 games, and he played for Finland in both the Olympics and the World Championships. Komarov didnt score much in his first go-round with the Leafs, tallying nine points in 42 games, but there may be more offence to his game than that. Usage would play a big part in whether or not Komarov is ever a factor offensively, but hes being brought back to Toronto more for his attitude than production. Komarov is a relentless pest, who hits a lot and gets under opponents skin. To his credit, he did have solid relative possession stats for the Leafs a couple of years ago. Heres the issue with Komarov, though. If he is capable of contributing offensively, and could fill a top-nine role, then it could justify the four-year, $11.8-million contract he received. If hes the same energetic fourth-liner that he was a couple of years ago -- a distinct possibility -- then hes vastly overpaid. Kontiola is a 29-year-old who was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2004 and played a dozen games with the Blackhawks in 2007-2008, registering five assists and, in that small sample, putting up great possession stats. In two AHL seasons, Kontiola scored 140 points in 159 (regular season plus playoff) games, before heading to the KHL, where he has scored 152 points in 204 games over the past four seasons, the last three with Chelyabinsk Traktor. He had 14 points in 16 games playing for Finland at the Olympics and in the World Championships. With that track record, its possible that Kontiola could contribute some offence for the Maple Leafs but, as a 29-year-old who has barely seen NHL action, he could also be a spare part. The good news is that, signed to a contract for $1.1-million for one season, hes a low-risk investment. If he wins a spot in the lineup and contributes, they can work on an extension; if he doesnt, no big deal. The Canadiens Sign: RW Jiri Sekac. 22-year-old Jiri Sekac was suddenly a hot name on the free agent market this spring after a nice season in the KHL, scoring 11 goals and 28 pointss in 47 games for Prague Lev, leading his team in points per game (0.dddddddddddd.60). As a junior, Sekac played a little in North America, earning zero points in eight games with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL as a 17-year-old before joining Youngstown of the USHL, where he scored 56 points in 96 games. Understandably, with that production, he wasnt considered a hot NHL prospect and went to the KHL, where he scored 21 points in 83 games over two seasons before breaking out last season. Signed for two years, at an entry-level of max of $925,000 per season (plus bonuses), Sekac is rapidly-improving and his potential drew lots of interest throughout the league, but it would be premature -- considering hes had basically one productive scoring season in three years -- to put big expectations on his scoring significantly for Montreal next season. However, if Sekac found a spot in Montreals top nine, maybe he could contribute some offence as a rookie. The Blues Sign: C Jori Lehtera. Lehtera, 26, was a third-round pick of the Blues in 2008 and has played all of 14 (regular season plus playoff games) in North America since, managing three points with Peoria in the 2008-2009 season. Since then, however, Lehtera has been very productive as a playmaking centre. In the past three seasons, playing for Novosibirsk Sibir in the KHL, Lehtera has tallied 39 goals and 118 points in 125 games (with zero goals and eight points in 13 playoff games). The 6-foot-2 centre had 12 points in 10 games at the World Championships this year, as well as four points in six games at the Olympics, not looking the least bit out of place against high-level competition. Coming to North America may require some adjustment, but Lehtera is going to have an opportunity to put up points right out of the game, slated to skate on the Blues second line with Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko on his wings. With quality playing time on a strong team, Lehtera could make an impact right away. 50 points seems a reasonable expectation, but theres upside beyond that if he can make a smooth transition. Lehtera is signed for two years, at a total cost of $5.5-million, a very reasonable price if he ends up fulfilling a top-six role for the Blues. His presence, along with Paul Stastny, allows the Blues to move David Backes and Patrik Berglund to the wing, giving the team outstanding depth up front. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '