Canada is off to a 2-0 start at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
They knock off Australia 93-83 to put itself in a prime position to clinch Group A and advance to the quarterfinals.
Leading the way for Canada was RJ Barrett. He has consistently been Canada’s top performer. Barrett put up 24 points on 8-14 shooting from the field. He also added 7 rebounds and 5 assists. It’s the second straight game that Barrett has lead the Canadians in scoring.
Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had another nice outing as well. He finished with 16 points on 8-10 shooting from the field. Dillon Brooks chipped in with 16 points and Luguentz Dort had 11 points to go along with 3 steals.
Canada trailed at halftime but then used a strong second-half to take the lead. They played great defensively forcing Australia to 18 turnovers and they collected 11 steals.
A big moment in this game was when Canada’s head coach Jordi Fernandez switched Dort onto Josh Giddey.
Australia had 9 turnovers in the third quarter alone, which doubled the amount they had in the first-half. Canada’s on-ball pressure wreaked havoc as the Canadians carried a two-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Then Gilgeous-Alexander set the tone in the final frame, draining the first basket on a tough make over Josh Green, then he had a big block on the other end.
From there, the Canadians finished the job. Jamal Murray made a tough shot to build Canada’s lead to 11 and former Raptor Khem Birch scored six points in the final frame to help Canada maintain their lead.
Next on tap
Canada will take on Spain in their final game of the group stage on Aug. 2 at 11:15 a.m. ET.
Canada can officially clinch Group A with a victory.
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