Matthew Dellavedova, Australia Beat Canada 108-92 in 2019 FIBA World Cup Opener

Australia started off their 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup campaign with a win, beating Canada 108-92 in Group H on Sunday. Matthew Dellavedova was the standout with 24 points. 

The Boomers took the early lead and held a double-digit advantage in the second quarter, but a monster third from the Road Warriors had them one point up heading into the fourth. Australia's superior top-end talent took over in the final quarter, however, giving them their first win in the tournament.

Australia and Canada have been drawn into a tricky group and will also face Lithuania and Senegal in the group stage.

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The Boomers got off to a fast start, doing plenty of damage inside and cutting off the lane expertly on the defensive end. Jock Landale proved a handful for the Canadian bigs, getting to the foul line early, and both Joe Ingles and Dellavedova had success with their jumper.

They also got solid production from their deep bench, with Andrew Bogut continuing the physical play on the inside. Canadian star Cory Joseph quickly got into foul trouble, handing even more momentum to the Boomers.

The Road Warriors couldn't keep Patty Mills from getting to the rim, either:

After a 19-8 run to open the contest, Canada reduced the deficit to just two points, but Australia ended the quarter strongly. Foul shots were huge, per sports writer Michael Grange:

Sports writer Olgun Uluc thought the officials played a big part in the first quarter:

Joseph was Canada's main danger man, reducing the deficit to 29-25 with a great coast-to-coast play early in the second quarter, but he picked up his third foul soon after. Mills pushed the deficit to double digits with an excellent floater, putting the Boomers firmly in control.

Aaron Baynes pushed the lead to 15 before Canada hit back to end the half, but they were still down by 12 going into the break. Ingles led the Boomers with 10 points, while Joseph had eight for Canada.

The Road Warriors came out of the dressing room with a purpose, starting the third with a 9-0 run to turn this back into a contest. Khem Birch made it a one-point game after the time out before Dellavedova finally scored the first basket of the half for the Boomers from three.

Turnovers were the main issue for Australia:

Frustration started to set in for the Boomers, and Landale was called for an unsportsmanlike foul. Joseph tied things up with a pair of free throws, and a strong move to the basket from Melvin Ejim gave the Road Warriors the lead.

Ball movement was key for Canada, who kept finding open looks against an out-of-sorts Australian defence:

The Boomers eventually regained their composure on the offensive end, however, and a silly foul from Kaza Kajami-Keane gave Mills three chances from the free-throw line. He converted all three to put Australia back on top.

A Dellavedova steal led to a layup and a foul, but the guard missed from the line. He made up for it with a big three with 30 seconds left in the quarter, but Thomas Scrubb returned the favour, giving Canada 37 points in the quarter and a one-point lead heading into the fourth.

Baynes and Mills showed why they are NBA talents early in the fourth, however, and aided by some poor shot selection from the Canadian team, the two put Australia back on top, giving their team a seven-point lead before the Road Warriors called a time out.

Dellavedova hit from three to continue Australia's momentum, and Canada started to struggle with turnovers, helping their opponents to build a double-digit lead again with less than seven minutes remaining. The Aussies cruised to the finish line from that point.

Both teams will be in action again on Tuesday, when Canada face Lithuania and Australia take on Senegal.