Canada basketball vs Spain takeaways: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & Co. perfect in Olympics

Canada staved off Spain for an 88-85 win on Friday in the Paris Olympics, pushing it to an undefeated 3-0 record in men's basketball group play. Here are three takeaways from the win:

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Dillon Brooks, Canada shut down Santi Aldama

Dillon Brooks was on time Friday — and not just his.

His shot selection might, at times, be questionable. His expressive nature surely isn’t for everybody. But his intensity is hardly ever left for debate. And on Friday, Spain forward — and formerly a teammate of Brooks’ in Memphis — Santi Aldama was reminded of that.

Aldama entered the matchup averaging 23 points. With Brooks on call, Aldama finished with just 7 points on 2-of-8 shooting.

The aggression, the disregard for personal space. All of it kept Aldama out of rhythm, in turn forcing Spain’s guards to play the heroes.

And when Spain’s guards did pile together encouraging runs, it rarely seemed to be stains on Brooks’ hands.

Between switching onto the perimeter and spending time in Aldama’s grill, Brooks was the pest he’s advertised as. And with how timely his buckets came, more often within the offense than a product of his intrusive thoughts, Brooks was worth even more Friday.

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Andrew Nembhard delivers necessary scoring punch

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s role with Canada doesn’t perfectly mirror the one he plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The drives aren’t as frequent, subsequently making the drive-and-kicks even less frequent. He’s prompted to be off the ball more. He’s not depended as much.

That leaves stretches where Canada needs guard play. And when SGA is removed from the game, there’s been a clear drop off. As far as scoring goes, though, Andrew Nembhard had things covered Friday.

The Indiana Pacers guard, who recently inked a deal worth $58.6 million over three years, popped off for 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting.

Gilgeous-Alexander did what was necessary. His night, a fairly quiet 20 points that were mostly earned at the line, still saw him called upon to seal the game. But Nembhard was there to hold off and combat any Spain runs.

And there were plenty.

A couple of notable 3s from former Thunder guard Alex Abrines, some wild plays from Sergio Llull, enough of a late-game surge from Dario Brizuela to elicit a, “Who is this dude?” from Dwyane Wade. All threats worth answers.

With a mix of short and timely jumpers Nembhard was the answer. He entered Friday’s game having scored a total of seven points through two games. RJ Barrett and SGA did much of the heavy lifting.

Yet with Jamal Murray looking a step behind so far in Paris, Canada’s bench has been crying out for a sustainable scoring punch, especially from its backcourt. One Nembhard was equipped for, making wise plays down the stretch, scoring eight of his points in the fourth quarter.

"(Spain) obviously didn't want to go away," Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters. "They're playing for their lives. We knew that going into the game. So it's a really good team. They gave us everything they had. It was a good game."

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Canada’s convincing group play display

The Canadians began the Olympics inside what many believed to be the field’s most competitive group, a pod that fostered an unlikelihood of any team walking away undefeated.

Yet Canada did just that. After a scare from Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Greeks, a sound win over Josh Giddey and the Australians, and now a stiff-arm of a late win over Spain, the Canadians emerge as an inevitable high seed entering the tournament — perhaps such a high seed that it could further delay any matchup with Olympic powerhouses United States and France.

Now comes time to pay attention to point differential.

Mere points will decide whether Canada shares its side of the bracket with the USA or France. The two highest seeds fall on opposite sides of the bracket. While games remain for the other two, Canada finished group play with a 20-point differential.

France enters its third game with a 16-point differential. The United States enters its third game with a mind-numbing 43-point differential, an overwhelming favorite for the No. 1 overall seed.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads Canada past Spain in Olympic basketball