The Dominican Republic hasn't played a game since August 12, but NBA star Carl-Anthony Towns joined the team.
Starters for both sides of the match:
• Canada: Shay Kyrgyz-Alexander, Dillon Brooks, R.J. Barrett, Kelly Olynyk, Dwight Powell
• Dominican Republic: Carl-Antoni Downs, Andrés Felix, Lester Quiñones, Eloy Vargas, Victor Leeds
Canada started the first quarter with two points, and Canada defended very well at the start of the game. But Towns was in good shape, hitting two three-pointers and scoring eight of the team's 11 points. With 5:05 left in the quarter, Canada led 14-11. But both Dillon Brooks and Dwight Powell were plagued by fouls, and the Dominican team took advantage of the rally to take a 27-26 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter of the game, Anthony Towns hit a 3-pointer, his shot felt good, and Dominica played a wave of 5-0 offensive runs. With less than three minutes left in halftime, Dominica led by 14 points (42-28). At this time, the Canadian team strengthened its defense and the attack also improved. RJ Barrett scored on a layup and caused a foul, and with 1 minute and 20 seconds left in halftime, Canada took a 45-44 lead. As the game progressed, the Dominican Republic turned the score around and ended the first half with a 48-47 lead.
In the first half, Carl Anthony Towns had a game-high 15 points and five rebounds and five turnovers.
Canadian coach Fernandes rested his core players in the second half and used the second squad more, mainly fearing that players would get injured in successive games, just in case. The second lineup Rinici Alexander Walker and Melvin Ejim performed well, and the third quarter ended with the pair tied 66-66.
The two teams took the lead alternately at the start of the fourth quarter, with the Dominican Republic energizing the crowd in the final minutes as LJ Figueroa dunked and fouled. He grabbed his jersey and showed the supporters at the scene the words of the Dominican team printed on his chest. Canada called a timeout. With seven minutes left in the game, the Dominican team led 76-68. Canada then failed to complete the comeback, losing 88-94 to the Dominican Republic to end their World Cup warm-up matches.
In this loss, Canada shot just 23.0% from three-point range. They also shot a measly 58.1% from the free-throw line.
Carl Anthony Towns was brave in this game, shooting 6-of-9 from the field, 5-of-6 from the free throw line, 3-of-5 from three-point range, and had 20 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.