The Boomers can guarantee a quarter-finals berth at the Paris Olympics with a win on Tuesday and they are on track to do just that, leading Canada 49-45 at halftime.

It comes after an inspired first half from Josh Giddey, who had 15 points and 10 in the first quarter alone, consistently getting into the paint while also making a pair of 3-pointers.

Dante Exum, meanwhile, was the perfect connective piece in his first minutes at the Olympics after missing the tournament opener against Spain, scoring six points.

Elsewhere, Dyson Daniels continued to build on his impressive month in the green and gold with another standout opening half, proving a menace on the defensive end with a pair of blocks and a steal while also scoring eight points.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for Canada on 10 points, having sat the majority of the first quarter after finding himself in foul trouble early.

The story of the first half though is former Oklahoma City teammate Giddey, who looked confident in his decision-making with the ball in hand.

At one point in the first quarter he was targeted by NBA villain Dillon Brooks, who got in the Australian’s face after scoring only to be hit with a foul.

The earlier result in Group A means Australia will automatically qualify for the quarter-finals if it beats Canada.

Spain defeated Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Greece 84-77, leaving the Spanish 1-1 with the Greeks 0-2.

As the Boomers face Greece in the final group stage game, if they move to 2-0, they cannot finish lower than second in the group.

If Australia loses to Canada, the result is still helpful as Spain (-5) and Greece (-14) have poor points differentials, which is the tiebreaker after head-to-head.

STARTING FIVES

Australia

Josh Giddey

Patty Mills

Dyson Daniels

Nick Kay

Jock Landale

Canada

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Lu Dort

Dillon Brooks

RJ Barrett

Dwight Powell

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The Boomers will look to take another step towards the quarter-finals in Paris when they face Canada in their biggest test yet at the Olympics on Tuesday night.

Australia made a strong start to its Olympic campaign with a 92-80 win over Spain last week.

It was an important victory considering the top two teams from each group make it through to the next round, while only the two best third-placed sides progress to the quarter-finals.

The win also came without injured guard Dante Exum, who is tracking towards returning from a dislocated finger to play against Canada.

TALKING POINTS: All the biggest lessons learned from Boomers’ win over Spain

Exum’s length and versatility would make him a welcome addition against a Canada team that matches up well against the Boomers, headlined by Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Championship-winning guard Jamal Murray, who missed last year’s FIBA World Cup, will also be in action for Canada, although he started off the bench in their win over Greece and has not looked quite right since battling a minor injury in the NBA Playoffs.

It did little to stop Canada from claiming a 86-79 win, with RJ Barrett leading the way on 23 points.

But it is Gilgeous-Alexander (21 points) who is the head of the snake and Boomers great Andrew Bogut believes one of the team’s breakout stars can go a long way to trying to limit the star guard’s effectiveness.

“The most important player is going to be Dyson Daniels because he’s going to get SGA,” he said on NBL Media’s The Gold Standard podcast.

“If he slows down SGA — they do like to have SGA bring the ball up — so just wear him down, turn him in the backcourt, try to get his legs for later on in the game.

“I hope Dyson Daniels starts on him.”