OKC Thunder at FIBA World Cup: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey lead way on Day 1

The Thunder’s five-man FIBA World Cup contingent combined to go 3-0 on Day 1 of the tournament.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort and the Canadians trampled France 95-65.

Josh Giddey, Jack White and Team Australia topped Finland 98-72.

And Latvia, featuring new Thunder wing Davis Bertans, trounced Lebanon 109-70.

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Thunder observations from Day 1 of FIBA World Cup

● Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got off to a slow start against France, but he had a dominant third quarter. We’ve seen that so many times with SGA. For him, quiet first halves are often the calm before the storm.

● SGA led Canada with 27 points on 9-of-19 shooting. He went 1-of-3 from deep and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line. Gilgeous-Alexander added 13 rebounds and six assists — also team highs. He did all of that in just 27 minutes. FIBA games are 40 minutes as opposed to 48-minute NBA games.

● Gilgeous-Alexander started for the Canadians alongside RJ Barrett, Dillon Brooks, Kelly Olynyk and Dwight Powell. That meant Lu Dort — who’s started in 204 of his 213 games with the Thunder — came off the bench.

● Upon checking in, Dort was assigned to defend French scorer Evan Fournier. Dort and Brooks made things tough for Fournier, who scored 21 points while shouldering too heavy of an offensive burden.

● Dort had a poor shooting game. He went 3-of-12 overall, including an ugly 1-of-7 from 3-point range. Dort took the second-most shots for Canada despite playing the sixth-most minutes.

● France, which lost by 30 points, was a 1.5-point favorite against Canada.

● A fan at the game, in Jakarta, Indonesia, wore a Thunder shirt and was cheering on the Canadians.

● Next up for Canada (1-0): vs. Lebanon (0-1) at 4:30 a.m. Sunday (ESPN+)

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● Josh Giddey had a familiar stat line: 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. The 20-year-old guard did a lot of everything for the Aussies, just as he’s done for the Thunder. Giddey shot 4-of-10 from the field. He missed both of his 3-point attempts, but was a solid 6-of-7 from the foul line.

● In the third quarter, Giddey drove into the paint and dumped a bounce pass to Jack White, who timed a perfect baseline cut. White contorted in the air and threw down a highlight dunk. The Australian teammates are now Thunder teammates, as OKC added White to its roster this offseason.

● White was efficient off the bench for the Aussies. He scored seven points on 3-of-4 shooting, including a 3-point make. White plays a physical brand of ball at 6-foot-7 and 225 pounds. He spent a lot of time matched up against Finnish star Lauri Markkanen, who took 17 shots to score 19 points.

● Australian legend Andrew Gaze, a lifelong mentor of Giddey’s, was on the ESPN+ broadcast.

● Next up for Australia (1-0): vs. Germany (1-0) at 3:30 a.m. Sunday (ESPN+)

● Latvia is missing its cornerstone in Kristaps Porzingis (plantar fasciitis), but that didn’t slow the Latvians as they rolled Lebanon. Thunder wing Davis Bertans, acquired from the Mavericks on draft night, had 10 points and three rebounds. He shot 3-of-7 from 3-point range, with all but one of his field goal attempts coming from behind the arc.

● Davis’ brother, Dairis Bertans, led Latvia with 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Dairis Bertans played in 12 games for the Pelicans in the 2018-19 season.

● Next up for Latvia (1-0): vs. France (0-1) at 8:30 a.m. Sunday (ESPN+)

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder stars SGA, Josh Giddey shine at Day 1 of FIBA World Cup