Basketball-United States storm into World Cup last 16

By Zoran Milosavljevic Sept 2 (Reuters) - The United States stayed on course to retain their basketball World Cup title after beating New Zealand 98-71 to reach the 2014 tournament's knockout stages with two games to spare in Bilbao on Tuesday. The Americans improved their preliminary pool record to 3-0 after New Orleans Pelicans centre Anthony Davis led the way with 21 points and nine rebounds while Kenneth Faried added 15 and 11 boards. Host nation Spain and 2006 runners-up Greece booked their last-16 berths on Monday while Slovenia can join the trio when they take on South Korea later on Tuesday. Having been criticised by coach Mike Krzyzewski after a lacklustre first-half display in a 98-77 win over Turkey, the U.S. hit the ground running against New Zealand's Tall Blacks and raced into a 57-35 lead at the interval. Guard Stephen Curry, who failed to impress in the opening two games, capped a fine afternoon with 12 points, as did his Golden State Warriors team mate Klay Thompson. Lithuania, bronze medalists in 2010, missed a chance to seal their passage after suffering a surprise 82-75 defeat by Australia in the afternoon's other game. Joe Ingles led the way for the winners with 18 points and four assists. (Writing by Zoran Milosavljevic in Belgrade; editing by Toby Davis)