With their second win in group play, Canada is on track for the knockout stage of the men’s basketball competition at the Paris Olympics. On Tuesday morning, the Canadians defeated the Aussies 93-83.
While RJ Barrett led all scorers with an impressive 24 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, the draw of this game was not only the competitiveness of the top two teams in Group A but the reuniting of Oklahoma City Thunder teammates Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort and Josh Giddey, who was just traded to the Chicago Bulls from OKC.
All three players’ performances were on par with expectations. Giddey was the constant for Australia with a team-high 19 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, while SGA was Canada’s most efficient option with 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting, four rebounds, and three assists. Dort gave one of the best defensive efforts of the game with three steals. Dort finished with 11 rebounds and three steals.
The game was competitive throughout; Australia actually led at halftime. But Barrett and SGA’s determined one-two punch in the second half lifted Canada to a 2-0 record in group play.
Canada will play Spain (1-1) on Friday at 10:15 AM Central Time in its final group-stage matchup, while Australia will play Greece (0-2) on Friday at 6:30 AM Central Time.
