The Canadian men’s basketball team is living up to its lofty expectations so far at the Olympics.
Following a 93-83 win over Australia on Tuesday, Canada took the top spot in Group A and is officially into the quarterfinals after both France and Germany also won Tuesday.
RJ Barrett of the Toronto Raptors led the way with a 24-point, seven-rebound, five-assist performance.
The always reliable Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a relatively quiet day, scoring only 16 points, but was as efficient as it gets, going 8-of-10 from the field. Though his point tally may have taken a hit, he added four rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks for good measure.
Meanwhile, Dillon Brooks and Luguentz Dort were their usual bothersome selves on defence and also added 16 and 11 points, respectively.
Australia was led by Josh Giddey, who finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists but was kept at bay for most of the game following an impressive 10-point first quarter. Centre Jock Landale added 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds while wing Dante Exum had 15 points.
Defence was the name of the game for Canada though, as the team picked up 11 steals, forced 18 turnovers from Australia, and won the points off turnovers battle 28-10, with much of that damage coming in the second half.
The most impactful change came when coach Jordi Fernandez switched Dort onto Giddey, trying to match the oversized Australian guard with a bigger and more physical defender than Brooks.
“We have ideas but then the players have to execute them, and he was amazing,” Fernandez said after the game, per Sportsnet’s Arash Madani. “Lu has been amazing back-to-back games defensively. Right now he’s making a statement and I’m happy, very happy for him.”
That hounding defensive style wasn’t as well-executed in the team’s opening game against Greece, as Brooks, Dort and Dwight Powell all fouled out. But the team found its discipline and identity in its second Olympic outing.
However, early on, it seemed as though foul trouble would once again plague Canada, perhaps more consequentially. Only one minute, 44 seconds into the contest, Gilgeous-Alexander was forced to take a seat after drawing his second foul of the game.
Canada managed to keep pace with Australia while Gilgeous-Alexander was on the bench, making a case to participate in the 10-metre air rifle competition by draining some sweet long-range snipes and hitting five three-pointers in the frame.
Andrew Nembhard was the man tabbed to take over ball-handling duties in his absence. He did well finding the shooters on the perimeter and Trey Lyles inside when he drew mismatches. But the difference in scoring ability was apparent, with the backup guard unable to create his own shot. He finished with five points on 1-for-6 from the field.
Australia held the lead for much of the first quarter, with Canada finally getting on top in the final minute after Jamal Murray hit a vintage, step-back three-pointer. The two teams continued exchanging baskets in the second with the lead switching hands 10 times by the halfway mark.
The Aussies wound up going into halftime up four, but there was little separating the two sides. Turnovers, assists, rebounds, fouls, points off turnovers — Canada and Australia were matching each other’s energy the whole way through. Except in efficiency.
Canada’s size and paint defence were always going to be a point of concern coming into the Olympic tourney, with the six-foot-11 Powell being the biggest guy on the roster.
Australia attacked that weakness and finished high-percentage looks at the rim, going into the break shooting a ridiculous 73 per cent from two-point range and beating Canada 30-16 in points in the paint.
But Canada forced the issue in the third, preventing Australia from even getting into those high-percentage sets down low by creating turnovers and playing to its strengths on the perimeter. That length and switchability caused five turnovers in five minutes to open the half, leading to seven points for Canada.
“We didn’t have a good start defensively,” Dort told CBC Olympics after the game. “We went at halftime and talked about some of the stuff we could have done. We came out in the second half and really started clicking.”
Overall, Australia had nine turnovers in the third quarter, more than doubling the amount it had in the first half. That on-ball pressure from Canada and propensity to push it down the court in transition led to a two-point lead going into the fourth.
As he does, Gilgeous-Alexander set the tone in the final frame, draining the first basket on a ridiculously tough make over Josh Green, then pinned Jack McVeigh’s layup against the backboard on the other end.
From there, the rest of the squad finished the job. Murray set the table and made a tough shot to build Canada’s lead to 11 while former Raptor Khem Birch scored six points in the frame to help maintain that gap.
“I think we’re still growing. A lot of our guys don’t have a lot of experience at FIBA so we’re all learning from each other, learning from the tournament,” Fernandez said. “The Olympics is a very different tournament from the (World Cup) … We’re learning from it. We’re a program that wants to be ranked at the top for many years. And we’re climbing. We started a long time ago … It’s not just a one-summer thing.”
UP NEXT
Canada takes on Spain at 11:15 a.m. ET on Friday
Australia takes on Greece at 7:30 a.m. ET on Friday
–––
Here are the key moments from Canada vs. Australia:
End of the fourth quarter: Canada 93, Australia 83
• 1:05 – After earning Canada an extra possession by wrapping up McVeigh for a jump ball (possession arrow to Canada), Powell throws down a basket to put his squad back up double-digits! 90-79 Canada.
• 3:37 – Murray hit a jumper that gave Canada its first double-digit lead of the ball game and the largest lead of either team to this point. 83-72 Canada.
• 5:10 – After Dort draws an offensive foul from Mills, Canada takes advantage of the miscue as Barrett knocks down his third three of the game to give the Red-and-White their largest lead thus far. 81-72 Canada.
• 9:23 – Clutch baskets by Gilgeous-Alexander in winning time is a story that never gets old. The Hamilton, Ont. native went left and pulled up for a mid-range jumper with Josh Green defending him as close as humanly possible without fouling. 74-70 Canada.
Third quarter
End of the third quarter: Canada 72, Australia 70
• 0:00 – Chaos! Dort strips Giddey and throws down a slam on the fast break in the waning moments of the quarter but Australia throws in a quick inbound and McVeigh hits a three at the buzzer for an immediate response.
• 3:30 – After a 12-3 run gave Canada its biggest lead of the ball game, the Australians got a timely response from Exum who knocked down a jumper to stop the bleeding. 66-60 Canada.
• 5:48 – Brooks picks up a third foul and is forced to sit the rest of the frame. He was one of three Canadians to foul out against Greece on Saturday.
• 5:59 – Dort knocks down his second triple of the game, making it back-to-back threes for Canada after Barrett made one moments prior and Australia calls a timeout. 58-54 Canada.
• 9:27 – Barrett gets fancy in transition! Spins through the lane and goes lefty layup to score the first basket of the second half.
HALF TIME
Second quarter
End of the second quarter: Australia 49, Canada 45
• 0:00 – Buckle-up folks! A back-and-forth affair through 20 minutes that saw 10 lead changes and no lead greater than six points. Despite two early fouls forcing him to sit, Gilgeous-Alexander still led Canada with 10 points in the first half going five-of-six from the field. Meanwhile, Giddey led all players with 15 points.
• 3:54 – Foul trouble creeping up for Canada like it did against Greece. Murray fouls Patty Mills on a three-point attempt, Canada’s third of the frame and eight overall, and the Aussie makes all three free throws. 40-37 Australia.
• 7:29 – Thankfully Canada gets Giddey’s former teammate and current Oklahoma City Thunder star back in the game and Gilgeous-Alexander immediately makes his impact felt by getting a tough layup to fall through traffic. 33-31 Canada.
• 9:39 – Giddey is a problem for Canada thus far, up to 13 points in the game after knocking down a triple, seconds into the second frame. 31-26 Australia.
First quarter
End of the first quarter: Australia 28, Canada 26
• 1:14 – Jamal Murray gets in on the party from downtown, drilling Canada’s fifth three, each by a different player. 26-24 Canada.
• 2:05 – Nembhard filling in admirably, hits Canada’s fourth triple of the first quarter. 23-21 Australia.
• 5:10 – Brooks steps up for Canada in Gilgeous-Alexander’s absence and makes a timely three to end a 7-0 run for the Boomers. 13-11 Australia.
• 8:16 – Uh oh… moments after Gilgeous-Alexander slithered his way for Canada’s first basket he picks up a second foul and is forced to sit. Andrew Nembhard checks in for some big early minutes.
• 9:19 – Josh Giddey knocks down a mid-range jumper for the first basket of the game
• 10:00 – And we’re off! Powell wins the tip for Canada.
Pre-game
• Canada sticking with the same starting lineup as its first game: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Dillon Brooks, RJ Barrett and Dwight Powell. Against Greece, the starting group was plus-22 in 10.5 minutes of action together.