Mavericks’ Dwight Powell, Canada Beat Spain, Advance in Olympics

Group Play has wrapped up in the Olympics as Team Canada went a perfect 3-0, capitalized by an 88-85 win over Spain early Friday afternoon. After a back-and-forth first quarter, Canada would take command of the lead in the second quarter and never look back, even when Spain made the game close in the fourth.

Dallas Mavericks’ center Dwight Powell, a starter for the Canadiens, finished with 9 points and one rebound while shooting a perfect 3/3 from the floor. Through group play, Powell is now shooting 8/9 from the field.

With the win, Canada secured themselves as the top seed in Group A and advanced to the knockout stage, which starts Tuesday. They won't know their draw for that stage until all group plays wrap up over the weekend. This was a must-win game for Spain, who could’ve been the top seed from Group A had they won but are now at the bottom.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the game in scoring with 20 points and R.J Barrett, who has been tremendous so far in the Olympics, wasn’t far behind with 16. Dario Brizuela, a player for FC Barcelona, led Spain with 17 points.