Canada downed Australia 93-83 on Tuesday advancing to 2-0 against Group A in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Here are three quick takeaways:

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes it look easy

Through two games, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has reigned supreme on the international stage.

Without him, forced to create offense as he rode the bench for much of the first quarter with two early fouls, Canada’s offense certainly missed a gear in its 93-83 win over Australia on Tuesday to move to 2-0 in group play at the Paris Olympics.

With him, even as Dillon Brooks forcibly earned his shot selection, Gilgeous-Alexander’s impact was clear. In the Paris games, SGA has been the kind of heart-sinking threat with the game at his fingertips.

En route to 16 points (8 for 10 from the field), four rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks, Gilgeous-Alexander’s work appeared easy. He bumped and shimmied his way to off-balance jumpers the way he does in season. His eventual touches, even if he spent most of a possession standing on the wing, came with inevitable force.

Every touch came with what seemed to be little wasted movement. Efficient shot attempts, quick reads to the short rollers.

He didn’t decide the game versus Australia like he did Greece, but he didn’t need to. His 16 points, with few mistakes in between, were the efficient burst Canada needed to separate.

RJ Barrett scored a game-high 24 points for Canada, which next faces Spain at 10:15 a.m. CT Friday.

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Josh Giddey brings back old memories (and some new ones)

Early on Tuesday, Thunder fans began reminiscing.

Josh Giddey’s first-half performance hardly spelled a revenge game. Neither Gilgeous-Alexander nor Lu Dort traded him away. Sam Presti did, and reluctantly at that. For Giddey, it was shaping up to be a reminder game. A refresher on what Giddey could look like with the ball in his hands.

The Australian guard showed things he’d never shown before. He pulled 3-pointers without hesitation, rose into pull-up jumpers in isolation. He showed off crossovers beyond his signature in-and-out. All of it fruitful, making for a 15-point first half and a halftime lead.

Australia’s night mostly went as Giddey did.

Come the second half, Thunder fans were reminded of Giddey’s lowlights. With Dort assigned to him and Brooks and others switching on to him, Giddey finished with just four second-half points.

Jock Landale’s low-post aggression and occasional perimeter plays from Australia were enough to stay afloat, but not enough to pull away without Giddey mirroring his first half.

“Josh was very, very good in that first half,” Canada coach Jordi Fernández told reporters. “I think Lu took the assignment, and he executed our defense. Not just by himself, but as you can tell, he is extremely physical. If you’re bringing the ball up the court, you don’t want to face that guy.”

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Lu Dort delivers in familiar role

Did Dort truly play basketball that day if he didn’t draw contact on an illegal screen?

Such plays are evidence of Dort’s existence, his essence as a hooper.

His end-of-quarter snatch of the ball from Giddey, a musclebound takeaway turned transition dunk to end the third, was proof: Dort, the Olympian, was here.

Dort finished with 11 points, three steals, two 3-pointers and one long, pesky night of perimeter defense. It was predictable for anyone familiar with Dort’s game. And for Canada, Dort’s role in nights like Tuesday are invaluable.

“Lu was a definite game-changer for us,” Brooks told reporters. “We found a way to get rebounds and stops consecutively. Overall, we were making plays for each other, making shots, RJ’s having a tremendous tournament, shaping it all. And we got guys coming up the bench ready to play, (Andrew) Nembhard, Khem (Birch). So we got to continue that, anybody's ready to play, and that second half, we stayed poised, stayed together. And the chemistry showed.”

On a stage where so many are either forced to scale up from their NBA role or pigeonhole themselves to fit the international style, Dort is the key that fits so many locks. Everything he does translates. The swipes at ball handlers, the screen navigation, the spot scoring without a need to create.

Dort is Dort in any setting, and for Canada on Tuesday, Dort was a winner.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Canada hold off Australia in 2024 Olympics