Canada defense sends them to 2-0, hands Australia first defeat

LILLE (France) – Nobody was surprised among the 27,000 fans in the stands of the Pierre Mauroy Stadium that Canada and Australia went back and forth for 40 minutes.

After 13 lead changes and additional nine times that the score was tied, Canada timed their fourth quarter run to perfection to win this one 93-83.

They are now 2-0, Australia and Spain are at 1-1, while Greece are 0-2 with one game remaining for each team in Group A.

Turning point

It was a 74-72 game early in the fourth quarter, when Lu Dort took over defensively, not allowing Josh Giddey and Australia to run their offense at all.

That set the stage for Khem Birch and Dillon Brooks to push the lead to 78-72, with RJ Barrett knocking down a big three-pointer to put the game out of Australia’s reach at 81-72 with five minutes on the game clock.

The Boomers gave it their all to make it interesting late in the game, but instead of closing the final gap, they allowed Dillon Brooks to get a late three-pointer which could potentially hurt them in the final standings.

Game hero

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is easily the biggest star on this team, but RJ Barrett has been amazing for coach Jordi Fernandez since they arrived in Lille. Back-to-back games with 20+ points, preserving that Barrett family Olympian legacy 24 years after his dad was a major figure for the Canadian team which reached the Quarter-Finals of the Sydney Olympics.

Barrett had 24 points on the day, with three threes made in six attempts, he grabbed 7 rebounds, dished out 5 assists and stole the ball twice. His efficiency rating of 28 was a team-high by some distance.

“He’s that guy. Sometimes, I don’t call plays for him and he just scores. That’s what he does. Probably, I should be better and call more plays for him, but he finds a way. That comes from his family, and he’s been unbelievable. He had a tougher first half, we needed him to rebound, and I played him less minutes, but then that third quarter, he was just so aggressive,” coach Jordi Fernandez said after the game.

Stats don’t lie

Best way to sum up the way Canada pressures you defensively: They forced 18 Australian turnovers, had 11 steals, creating a 28-10 advantage in points from turnovers.

“The concern coming into the game was their pressure and how we handle their pressure. Even though we had depth in those spots, they wore us down physically, and we really had trouble getting into anything in the second half. Those 15 points off turnovers in the third quarter gave them the cushion,” Australia head coach Brian Goorjian explained.

In a close game like this, that’s more than enough to create separation.

Bottom line

Canada aren’t just a one-trick wonder, and have proven now that they have multiple scorers when needed. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting, Dillon Brooks scored 16, Lu Dort 11.

For Australia, Josh Giddey was once again the main man with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, while Jock Landale finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

But at 1-1 now, they are playing a tough game against Greece on the final game day, chasing a place in the Quarter-Finals.

They said

“He does a great job moving off the ball. That’s his strength, he’s always gonna find a way to get his shot up, he’s taking a lot of tough shots, and he makes them. He’s been a great player for a long time for a reason. Just trying to make it tough on him.” – Lu Dort on his defense on Patty Mills

“To me, they are a version of Team USA. They play different than the Europeans, there’s a lot more one-on-one, a lot more spread game, a lot more going at the weak defender, bringing him to the on-ball and spread. And then, the physicality defensively was at a level that we haven’t played against so far.” – Australia head coach Brian Goorjian

“When you’re good defensively, you’re happy. I was unhappy with our physicality in the first half, we just got to put four quarters together. It wasn’t perfect, but at the end of the day in the game of basketball there’s a lot of imperfections and you have to fight through it. We had a lot of players helping the team, and that’s how you’ve got to be when you’re a part of a basketball team. You gotta be selfless.” – Canada head coach Jordi Fernandez

“It’s just another game for me. I bleed Canadian, I’m all for Canada, those are the interests of my people right now. Obviously, I have a lot of respect for Spain, I know the coach well, I know the program, they are awesome. Great people. But they are the rival. We’re playing here at the Olympics to make all the Canadians proud.” – coach Fernandez on facing his native country Spain

Quick notes

• Australia allowed 90+ points in three of their last four games at the Olympics. They allowed 90+ points three times across their previous 23 games

• RJ Barrett scored 24 points with 7 rebounds and 5 assists, only Steve Nash had more points (26 vs FR Yugoslavia) with 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists for Australia in a game at the Olympics

• Jock Landale (16pts, 12reb) is the first Australian to get 15+ points and 10+ rebounds in a game at the Olympics since Andrew Bogut (15pts, 11reb vs Puerto Rico in 2004)

• Josh Giddey is the first player over the past 50 years to get 15+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists in his first two games at the Olympics

FIBA