Canada beats Greece in first game of Olympic men’s basketball

Team Canada has won its first game of the 2024 Olympic men’s basketball tournament. On Saturday, Canada beat Greece 86-79.

Three Canadians reached double digits in scoring. It was an exceptional game for Toronto Raptors’ shooting guard RJ Barrett of Toronto, Ontario. Barrett led Team Canada with 23 points. He made eight of 13 field goals, all six free throws, and one out of four attempts from beyond the arc. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Toronto scored 21 points, and Houston Rockets small forward and defensive specialist Dillon Brooks of Mississauga, Ontario had 14 points. Raptors center Kelly Olynyk of Toronto led Canada with six assists, and Gilgeous-Alexander led Canada with seven assists.

Canada won despite significant foul trouble. Brooks, small forward Luguentz Dort and center Dwight Powell all did not finish the game because they fouled out.

One area Canada should be proud of is that they contained Greece’s supporting cast. Yes, Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks scored 34 points. However, the other seven Greece players in the game scored a combined total of 45 points.

Next up for Canada is Australia on Tuesday. Australia won their opening game 92-80 over Spain. Houston Rockets center Jock Landale of Melbourne led Australia with 20 points.