The US national team continued their preperations for the Olympic games in Athens with a convincing win over New Zealand 94-68 in Jacksonville today.

Tim Duncan led the US once again with 16 points followed by Dwyane Wade and Amare Stoudemire who scored 14 points each.

For New Zealand, Phil Jones (7/14 shooting, 5 rebounds) and Kirk Penney both led the way with 14 points each. Tall Blacks Center Sean Marks participated for the first time in scrimmage after coming to terms with the San Antonio Spurs on a new contract earlier.

After the game Larry Brown had nothing but good things to say about New Zealand:

"Everything about New Zealand basketball impresses me," he said. "They're as well coached as any team in the world and as fundamentally sound as any team I have seen.

"They enjoy playing and are a team. Obviously, they shoot the ball well & everyone knows that.

"Athletically, they are behind because they just don't have the depth in numbers we have, but they play the right way, which we talk about all the time."

New Zealand coach Tab Baldwin feels that the US aren't overwhelming favorites for the gold just yet.

"They have a long way to go," he said. "They're not executing that great and made more mistakes than they would have wanted."

The US will play Puerto Rico tommorow in a more "official" friendly game that will be televised on ESPN at 1 PM EST. Check the Athens Olympic board on RealGM for an official game thread.