Paris Olympics 2024: Wembanyama takes over in OT, helps France escape a serious challenge from Japan; Greece winless

It was tied at 84 going into the extra session, after Wembanyama wasn’t much of a factor in the last 3-1/2 quarters of regulation.

France’s Victor Wembanyama claps. | Photo Credit: AP

The first three minutes were easy for Victor Wembanyama on Wednesday. So were the last five minutes.

Everything else was a grind.

Grabbing at his lower right leg after a quick trip off the court late in the first quarter, then grabbing at his left hip a couple of times later in the game, Wembanyama seemed to be laboring at times in France’s second game of the Paris Olympics. He finished with 18 points — getting a three-point play that put his team ahead for good 26 seconds into overtime — and France wound up holding off a serious upset bid by Japan, winning 94-90.

It was tied at 84 going into the extra session, after Wembanyama wasn’t much of a factor in the last 3-1/2 quarters of regulation.

Overtime was all Wemby.

He had eight points in the first 4:26. Nobody else scored a single point in that span — not from France, not from Japan — and he ensured that the hosts would escape.

He had help, most notably Matthew Strazel’s four-point play to tie the game for France with 10.2 seconds left in regulation and Japanese star Rui Hachimura — who had 24 points — getting ejected early in the fourth quarter after his second unsportsmanlike foul of the game.

It seemed like it would be a dominant Wembanyama night in the early going. Hachimura didn’t even bother jumping for the opening tipoff; he simply conceded it to Wembanyama, who had eight points in the first 3:20.

But he went strangely silent from there — until OT, that is. And France would survive.

Greece winless

RJ Barrett had 24 points and seven rebounds and Canada stayed unbeaten in group play at the Paris Olympics with a victory over Australia.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 16 points as Canada improved to 2-0 and remained on track to advance when the tournament field is trimmed from 12 to eight teams and shifts to Paris next week for the knockout stage.

Canada coach Jordi Fernandez said he likes the position his team is in because it’s able to control its own destiny.

“We’ve got to keep growing because we’re a team that’s never played together,” Fernandez said. “I think in five or 10 years from now we want to be all the way to the top of the rankings. But we have to start at some point, and I like the direction that we’re taking it.”

Josh Giddey led Australia with 19 points. Dante Exum finished with 15.

Canada plays Spain in its final group-stage matchup. Australia faces Greece next.

“They’re hungry for a win and hungry to stay in the tournament,” Exum said of facing 0-2 Greece. “So we need to be ready and do as much.”

The game was tight throughout the first half. But Barrett kept finding seams in Australia’s defense, helping his team take its first double-digit lead on a 3-pointer with 5:13 remaining. Canada then pushed it up to 83-72 with about 4 1/2 minutes to play.

Fernandez said his team’s physicality was lacking in a first half in which it surrendered 30 points in the paint. The pressure was ratcheted up in the second half, though, with Canada deflecting 22 passes and limiting Australia to only 16 points in the paint.

“That ignited our offense,” Fernandez said.

Santi Aldama had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Spain defeated Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece to earn its first victory of the Paris Olympics and remain in contention to advance to the knockout round.

Sergio Llull finished with 13 points. Spain improved to 1-1 in Group A with one group-stage game left to play against Canada.

Antetokounmpo had 27 points and 11 rebounds.

After losing their opening games on Saturday, Greece and Spain both came out essentially playing for their tournament lives, with the loser facing a must-win scenario on Friday — and likely lots of help — to have any chance of advancing.

That team is now Greece, which will meet Australia in its final chance to earn a victory before four teams’ medal hopes end.

Greece cut what had been a 14-point halftime deficit to a point early in the fourth quarter.

It then tied it at 71 on an emphatic, driving left-handed dunk by Antetokounmpo over Aldama, whom he’d been jostling with throughout the game.

But Aldama responded on the other end with a driving layup and Spain steadied over the next few minutes, scoring the next eight points.

“It’s tough with a guy like him to make the defensive play,” Aldama said. “You can either make the defensive play or try to block the shot. ... I tried, got posturized, but next play.”

Greece pulled back to within 80-77 with 59 seconds left, but Antetokounmpo had a 3-pointer from the top of the key bounce off the rim.

Spain does have a big health concern going forward after Rudy Fernandez left late in the fourth quarter after a collision under the basket and was helped by trainers to the locker room.