Team Canada is the leader after the first two games of the Olympic men’s basketball tournament in Group A at two wins and zero losses. On Tuesday at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Canada beat Australia 93-83 at Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille.
Australia had a marginal better first half than Canada as they outscored the Canadians 49-45 after the opening 20 minutes. Then Canada came out blazing in the third quarter, and outscored the Australians 48-34 in the final 20 minutes.
Canada’s on court play was solid. However, another strength for Canada was their coaching staff. Canadian head coach Jordi Fernandez, who is the new head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, implemented different defensive strategies at halftime and worked immensely. It seemed like Canada was significantly more aggressive in their overall schemes. The transition defense led to better looks offensively.
Four Canadians reached double digits in points. RJ Barrett of the Toronto Raptors led the way with 24 points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dillon Brooks of the Houston Rockets had 16 points each, while Luguentz Dort of the Thunder had 11 points. Dwight Powell of the Dallas Mavericks led Canada with nine rebounds, while Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets and Barrett led Canada with five assists each.
Australia won their opening game of the Olympic tournament by a score of 92-80 over Spain, and things looked promising until the beginning of the third quarter against Canada, when they were simply outplayed. Australia next plays Greece on Thursday, while Canada next plays Spain on Thursday. Germany and France are also at two wins and zero losses.
