Canada guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) battles for the possession of the ball against Latvia forward Andrejs Grazulis (24) during the Basketball World Cup group H match between Canada and Latvia at the Indonesia Arena stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Tatan Syuflana
JAKARTA, Indonesia – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a game-high 27 points and Canada overcame a sluggish first quarter to rout Latvia 101-75 on Tuesday at the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Canada trailed 23-13 after the first quarter and led by just one point at the half before dominating the rest of the game.
Gilgeous-Alexander added six rebounds, six assists and two steals for Canada. RJ Barrett had 22 points and five rebounds, with Kelly Olynyk (15 points) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (14 points) also scoring in double digits.
Andrejs Grazulis had 16 points for Latvia.
Canada finished Group H play at 3-0, outscoring its opposition by an average of 37 points a game.
Canada and Latvia (2-1) will next go into a group with the top two teams in Group G, which wraps up play Wednesday.
Defending champion Spain is already through to the group, with Brazil and Ivory Coast battling for the other spot.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2023.
