Canada never trailed and outscored Australia 23-13 in the final quarter for a 90-70 win over the home side in a FIBA World Cup warmup basketball game Friday.
The Canadians led 51-36 early in the third quarter but Australia rallied to draw level before the visitors dominated the final period for an easy win. The teams meet again on Saturday night at the same stadium in Perth. Australia plays Canada in their first game of the World Cup on Sept. 1 in China. Canada goes into the World Cup without most of their NBA stars.
Miami Heat's Kelly Olynyk became the latest big-name player to pull out after sustaining a knee injury. He joined Andrew Wiggins, Jamal Murray, R.J. Barrett, Tristan Thompson, Dwight Powell, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chris Boucher and Nickeil Alexander-Walker as other top Canadian NBA players to miss the World Cup. Kevin Pangos scored 18 points for Canada, which is being coached by Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse, who led the team to the NBA Championship this season. Andrew Nembhard added 12 points and was among five players to hit double figures for Canada. Patty Mills led Australia with 20 points.
