Canada tops Giannis and Greece on Day 1. Wemby and France also win, as do Germany and Australia

VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France — Canada was tested, then held on to get its first Olympic win in 24 years.

RJ Barrett scored 23 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 21 and Canada survived a big effort from Giannis Antetokounmpo to beat Greece, 86-79, in the Paris Olympics opener for both teams in Group A play on Saturday night.

Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 34 points for Greece. Dillon Brooks scored 14 for Canada.

Even though Antetokounmpo had the big night, Barrett lauded the waves of defenders Canada threw his way.

“That’s why you have the word ‘team,’ ” Barrett said. “It’s not one guy. It’s all of us, all together. Everybody has their part to do. Playing Giannis is not an easy task.”

Canada led by as many as 16 and never trailed, though Greece made matters very interesting in the final moments. Vasilis Toilopoulos scored with 1:15 remaining to get Greece within four, and a Canada turnover on the next possession led to a dunk by Antetokounmpo to cut the lead to 80-78.

But Gilgeous-Alexander got a high-arching shot over Antetokounmpo’s outstretched arm to kiss off the glass for a score with 42.8 seconds left, restoring the four-point edge, and Canada would escape.

“They’re a really good team, so that’s going to happen,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They’re not going to quit, obviously. So we expected that. We expected we’d make our run and they’d have a little more juice and make their run. For us it was just about weathering the storms, and kind of sticking to our game plan throughout the runs. Basketball is a game of ups and downs. We just try to weather the other teams’ better than they weather yours.”

France 78, Brazil 66

Victor Wembanyama had 19 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three blocks to help France overcome an early deficit and get past Brazil in Group B.

Nicolas Batum added 19 points for France, which was showered with chants of “Les Bleus!” France next plays Japan, which lost Saturday to Germany, on Tuesday. Brazil has Germany next.

Leo Meindl and Cristiano Felicio led Brazil with 14 points apiece.

Australia 92, Spain 80

Jock Landale had 20 points and nine rebounds as Australia opened Group A play with a win.

Patty Mills scored 19 points, and Josh Giddey added 17 to lift Australia, which is tied with Canada atop Group A. Australia faces Canada on Tuesday, while Spain will face Greece in a game that will be big for both teams in terms of making the knockout stage.

Germany 97, Japan 77

Franz Wagner had 22 points and six rebounds, and Germany pulled away from Japan in the second half to secure a Group B win.

Daniel Theis added 18 points and seven rebounds. Moritz Wagner scored 15 for the defending World Cup champions, who never trailed and face Brazil on Tuesday. Japan takes on Olympics host France that same day.

Rui Hachimura finished with 20 points for Japan, which has only 13 wins in its seven Olympic appearances.

Dennis Schroder had 13 points and 12 assists for Germany, which entered the Olympics ranked third in FIBA’s world rankings behind the U.S. and Spain.