1:00 p.m. ET: In short, the U.S. did what they needed to do (and more importantly, what I wanted them to do) -- they broke Angola. They sent a message. Their play said, "We're not messing around, anymore. We're going to mow down the competition the first chance they give us."

12:55 p.m. ET: U.S. gets winner of Russia-New Zealand. Russia's got my pick, even without Kirilenko. If that's the case, and if the Americans play like they did tonight, expect a similar rout.

P.S. If you can, watch the Argentina-Brazil game tomorrow. Between the similar talent levels and the hatred between those two countries, that game will be a doozy.

12:50 p.m. ET: Can't express how impressive the U.S. was compared to last week. Other than Westbrook, there wasn't a single player who didn't play in the well-oiled offense the U.S. fine-tuned over the weekend. They moved the ball and pretty much dissected Angola.

Defensively, the Americans only had one stretch (late second quarter) where they got a little out of control. Other than that, they played solid, tight defense that forced 10 second-half turnovers. They'll need to gamble a little less when they play better teams like Argentina/Brazil or Spain, but I feel a lot better than I did last week.

12:47 p.m. ET: Game MVP? I'll bail myself out and do co-honors: Billups and Gay. Billups' shooting (5-for-7 from deep) helped put Angola on their heels. Throw in five assists, and it was easily his best outing in a Team USA uni.

As for Gay, he brought the two-way effort off the bench. 17 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists. Unselfish, contagious play brought highlights for himself and others, but without the uncontrolled chaos a lot of the young guys exhibited last week.

12:45 p.m. ET: Final, USA 121, Angola 66.

Only in the third quarter (26 points) did the U.S. fail to eclipse 30 points. For ten-minute quarters, that's impresionante.

12:44 p.m. ET: The refs are cool with Love getting hacked after every rebound, apparently.

12:42 p.m. ET: Just over a minute left, and Durant is standing up and applauding good garbage time play. He's like LeBron, if LeBron were more sincere than contrived.

12:40 p.m. ET: It's official. Danny Granger shoots like me in eighth grade. One foot steps in front of the other but his shoulders remain square, so his whole body is twisted on the release. Gordon, who doesn't do that, hits another three.

12:39 p.m. ET: three minutes and change left, USA 113, Angola 66. I'm pretty sure the U.S. sent a message. Finally.

12:37 p.m. ET: Chandler tried to go NBA Streetball with the reverse alley-oop and failed miserably. Curry cleans up with a three.

12:36 p.m. ET: Gay anticipated that pass perfectly. Breakaway steal/dunk, followed by a Gay alleyoop pass to Chandler. Entering the tourney, I wondered how Gay would mesh his game. He showed me tonight -- any way you can think of.

12:30 p.m. ET: USA 101, Angola 61. Two freebies for Gay. Gay (15 points) making a run at Billups (19 points) for team-high in points. Gordon making his own bid after his fourth three-pointer (perfect 5-for-5 shooting). Westbrook is 1-for-3 on dunks.

12:29 p.m. ET: Announcer on Westbrook's breakaway dunk: "And finally, Westbrook gets a chance to do what he does best." He's had plenty of chances. He just finally converted.

12:28 p.m. ET: More unintentional comedy. After a sick Rudy Gay tomahawk, Gay does the Shaq look-at-my-wrist-to-see-if-it's-alive gimmick. The English announcer mistakenly observes Gay is making sure his wrist isn't hurt. Pretty sure it's OK, Lonnie.

12:26 p.m. ET: Rudy Gay has been everywhere tonight. Very active on both ends of the floor, especially the boards. USA will need that if any bigs get in foul trouble down the road.

12:25 p.m. ET: In the late third quarter, the announcer said of Steph Curry, "There's not a lot you don't like about him, just like his dad." Actually, I think there's more to like about Stephen Curry than Dell Curry. Pretty sure, anyway.

12:23 p.m. ET: End 3rd, U.S. 91, Angola 56. This is O-V-E-R.

12:21 p.m. ET: Westbrook has missed a quasi-contested floater and an uncontested layup on consecutive possessions. For the love of all that is good basketball, take him out of the game! As I type that, he misses a pull-up three. The defense rests.

12:18 p.m. ET: Crazy awesome stat after another Gordon three: U.S. is 14-for-26 from deep. Guys like Gordon, Billups, Love and Durant solving what was once a huge problem for Team USA.

12:16 p.m. ET: Even with the game already in hand, U.S. moving the ball really well. Gordon nails the three after Angola's Gomes hits again for 20 points. 2:25 left in the 3rd, 86-52, U.S.

12:15 p.m. ET: Gay followed Ambrosia's slam with a vicious, windmill one-step that got a reaction from the group (can't be called a crowd).

12:14 p.m. ET: Odom hits the three, U.S. up 34. For Angola, I remember '92. They looked mechanical, slow, and basically not made to ever touch a basketball. As I'm typing this, I see Angola's Felizardo Ambrosia fly out of nowhere for a vicious two-handed putback slam. As much as I love the U.S. dominating, it's great seeing these other countries look like they belong on a basketball court.

12:10 p.m. ET: Durant holds his own block party. I remember his rookie year when Grant Hill guarded him for the first time. After Durant's first shot (completely contested), Hill turns around and says to the press row, "He's loooong." You can't understand that until you see Durant in person. He's like Earl Clark, only 1,047,594 times better.

12:09 p.m. ET: 74-40, U.S. Putback for Angola negated by Odom's putback after the block. Lamar's been snuffed twice now, and looks a little agitated. U.S. Elbow v.2.0 coming up?

12:07 p.m. ET: Announcer on Billups: "After seeing Billups play at these world championships, I cannot believe the Detroit Pistons traded him." Right as I type that, he hits another three. How's Charlie Villanueva and Tracy McGrady's corpse working out for you, Joe Dumars?