Canada’s men’s basketball team appears to be rounding into form.
Coming off a too close victory over Greece in its first Olympic game since 2000, Canada matched Australia in a tight first half, before taking control in a strong third quarter on the way to a 93-83 win on Tuesday in Villeneuve d’Ascq.
RJ Barrett played his second superb game in a row, scoring a game-high 24 points, Dillon Brooks and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, fighting off early foul trouble, added 16 apiece, fellow starter Dwight Powell was solid and Lu Dort was spectacular defensively. Canada now leads Group A with two wins and a +17 point differential after Spain’s win over Greece Tuesday. Australia topped Spain in their opener. Canada takes on Spain on Friday with a chance to clinch top spot in the group and decrease the odds of meeting the favoured Americans until a medal is on the line.
Australian centre Jock Landale was a load inside all game, finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while point guard Josh Giddey was great early and finished with 19 points, six assists and seven rebounds. Luguentz Dort was all over Giddey in the second half though and Australia only scored 13 points in the fourth quarter after outscoring Canada in each of the first two quarters, including a 28-point first where the Aussies all but scored at will.
Unlike against Greece, where a 10-0 run in the final minutes made what looked like an easy Canadian win into a stress-inducing down to the wire battle, Canada kept its foot on the gas and pulled away as the fourth progressed. Landale had made it a two-point game early in the fourth, but a 7-0 run gave Canada the momentum it would carry the rest of the way.
Barrett, who now plays for his (close to) hometown Toronto Raptors, has been tremendous. He’s the first Canadian to score at least 20 points in consecutive Olympic games since Winnipeg’s Todd McCulloch did it in 2000 and it was the most points since Steve Nash scored 26 that same year, per TSN.
“I’m out there with Shai, one of the best players in the world. Just playing with him, the whole team is open because he draws so much attention,” Barrett told reporters in France after the game of why he’s thriving.
Barrett scored 17 of his 24 in the second half, while Gilgeous-Alexander shot 8-for-10.
“We started out slow, whereas last game we started out fast. We’ve got to know that in this tournament, we’ve got to be ready from the beginning of the game and sustain it all the way through,” Barrett said.
Brooks had similar thoughts, telling reporters: “We will be happy for the game today, learn from our mistakes from the first half and how we got better in the second half. And then focus on Spain,” Brooks said.
“Spain had a great game today against a good team in Greece. So we’ve got to find a way to win another game in two days.”
For now though, they can enjoy a strong effort in what was for much of the day a well-played, physical battle against another good opponent.