Canada vs Dominican Republic result, highlights: Canadians drop last warm-up game ahead of the FIBA World Cup

Off to Indonesia we go and the start of the FIBA Basketball World Cup!

Canada will begin their quest for not only winning the World Cup but qualifying for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics next Friday when they take on France in Jakarta. 

They finished up their pre-tournament warm-up games with a 94-88 loss to a game Dominican Republic squad.

Head coach Jordi Fernandez did shut down the starters in the second half, which allowed the second unit and those fighting for minutes to try and earn some burn when the games matter. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Lu Dort and Kyle Alexander had better second halves after poor starts to the game. Those three, alongside Melvin Ejim, made good cases in the warm-up games to be the men that Fernandez calls on off the bench. 

Canada struggled to find any luck from 3-point range, shooting 23.0 percent from deep in the loss. They also shot a dismal 58.1 percent from the foul line, but that's all behind them now. 

Karl-Anthony Towns looked spry in the win, pouring in 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field. LJ Figueroa had a game-high 20 points for the Dominican Republic. 

If you missed any of the action live, The Sporting News tracked updates throughout Canada's final tuneup ahead of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

You can also watch the game on demand for free by signing up for a Courtside 1891 account here.

MORE: Should the Raptors trade Pascal Siakam for Karl-Anthony Towns?

Canada vs Dominican Republic score

Full box score here.

Canada vs Dominican Republic live updates, highlights

End of game: Dominican Republic 94, Canada 88

5:20 p.m. - Game over and warm-up games over. The real stuff starts next Friday, Aug. 25 against France. It's a win for the Dominican Republic.

5:11 p.m. - Knowing that he can play through some mistakes with the starters done for the night has given Zach Edey a chance to play carefree and it shows. He's battling with Karl-Anthony Towns at the moment and not backing down. Dominican still leads 84-78 with 2 minutes to play. 

5:05 p.m. - That dunk has sparked Figueroa. He's feeling it right now. Back-to-back tough buckets and he's up to 18 points on the night — and he hasn't missed a shot. Dominican still up 80-68.

5:02 p.m. - The Dominican Republic has energized the crowd in the last few minutes, capped by a LJ Figueroa dunk and foul. He grabs his jersey and flashes the Dominican printed on his chest to the supporters on hand. Jordi Fernandez calls a timeout. Dominican up 76-68 with seven minutes to play.

4:58 p.m. - We got an officials review to see who the ball went out on. It's taking longer than it should, but the refs are tuning up for the World Cup too, I guess.

After the delay, it's Canada ball, Nickeil Alexander-Walker misses a 3 and it leads to a transition bucket for the Dominican. DR up 71-68 with 8 minutes to play in the game.

4:54 p.m. - Start of the fourth here we go. Canada shooting just 56.0 percent from the foul line and 27.3 percent from deep. A couple more shots fall in the third, they'd have the lead. The frame starts with Kenny Cherry feeding Kyle Alexander for a dunk. Canada up 68-66.

End of third quarter: Dominican Republic 66, Canada 66

4:50 p.m. - Good start to the third turned into a bit of sloppy play to close the period. Canada and DR tied at 66. Nickeil Alexander-Walker gave Canada better minutes in the third. Kyle Alexander had some bright spots and could be a breakout star for Canada's second unit when the games really count. 10 more minutes left and then the real games start on Aug. 25!

4:46 p.m. - Sloppy play in the last couple of possessions leads to a timeout. Canada up 62-61 with 1:36 left to play in the third.  

4:42 p.m. - Even the most optimistic Zach Edey fan has to watch him at this level and say he's not quite ready yet. That's ok though, he's still young (21) and the potential is there, but you'll have to be patient. 

4:40 p.m. - Nice showing from the Canadians right now. All role players in the game and Jordi Fernandez's bunch is hanging with the DR's starters. Canada up 60-57 with 3:38 to play in the third.  

4:32 p.m. - Good decision from Jordi Fernandez to shut his starters down. It's the final chance for these role players to earn some minutes, let them do it. Also, no need for the likes of SGA, RJ, Olynyk or Brooks to put up an unnecessary knock a week before the World Cup. 

4:29 p.m. - Second half time! Canada starting with its role players. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Zach Edey, Phil Scrubb, Melvin Ejim and Lu Dort will get some run against the DR starters. 

Halftime: Dominican Republic 48, Canada 47

4:18 p.m. - End of 20 hard-fought minutes in Granada. Dominican Republic up 48-47. RJ Barrett came alive in the second period, he has 10 points at the half. Dillion Brooks also has 10. Karl-Anthony Towns has a game-high 15 points and five rebounds. The Canadian defense has forced Towns into five turnovers, but that's come when Towns began to do too much. 

Canadian's second unit will be the story of the second half. They were outplayed in the first. Nickeil Alexander-Walker (-9), Melvin Ejim (-11), Kyle Alexander (-11) and Lu Dort (-9) can't be outplayed like that if Canada has any shot of making it deep when the games really count. The full box score is here.

4:09 p.m. - Canada locking in defensively and it's turning into offense. RJ Barrett gets the hoop and harm to give Canada the lead 45-44 with 1:20 to play in the half. Can Canada close this half with momentum?   

4:05 p.m. - The DR's second unit did what they had to do and handed the game back to the starters with a lead. If you expected Canada to cruise to a victory, strap in this one is going to be a fight. Canada down 42-28 with just under three minutes to play in the half.

3:59 p.m. - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets fouled on a 3. He made one of the three free throws...Canada down 38-34.

3:57 p.m. - Out of the timeout Karl-Anthony Town drills a 3, and he's feeling it. Gelvis Solano finishes and gets foul and a quick 5-0 run for the DR. Canada down 38-33.

3:54 p.m. - Canada's talent pool is good enough to go deep in the World Cup. The best teams at the international level just beat you with depth. The second unit of Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Lu Dort, Kyle Alexander, Melvin Ejim and others are going to have to win their minutes when the games count. Most teams' first units can hang, the second unit is where the underdogs likely lose games. Jordi Fernandez's bench squad just has to win their minutes. It's been a bit shaky today. Time out on the floor Canada and the DR tied at 33 midway through the second.

End of the first quarter: Dominican Republic 27, Canada 26

3:48 p.m. - A quick first period with no TV timeout. Took 13 minutes of real time to get through the first quarter. Canada trail 27-26 after 10 minutes of play. The Starters came out and played hard to start the game. Both Dillon Brooks and Dwight Powell, who have had their struggles with foul trouble, provided some offense pouring in eight points a piece. But the bench didn't maintain the intensity the starters opened the game with and the Dominican battled back and took the lead into the break.

3:39 p.m. - Canada's defensive effort has been great to start the game. No one on the DR outside of Karl Towns wants anything to do with the ball pressure Canada is putting on them. The problem? Towns has been up to the task scoring eight of the team's 11 points to keep pace with the Canadians. Towns has started the game going 3-for-4 from the field — two of which were 3s. Canada up 14-11 with 5:05 to play in the quarter.

3:32 p.m. - Dwight Powell scores the first two points of the game and Canada is up 2-0 early.

3:31 p.m. - Here are the starting lineups for both teams:

• Canada: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dillon Brooks, RJ Barrett, Kelly Olynyk, Dwight Powell
• Dominican Republic: Karl-Anthony Towns, Andres Felix, Lester Quinones, Eloy Vargas, Victor Liz

3:30 p.m. - Off we go from Granada, Spain! Canada in the road red, DR in the home whites.

Pregame

3:24 p.m. - National anthems are being played now in the arena which means we're moments away from tip.

3:10 p.m. - NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns and former Seton Hall standout Ángel Delgado will be a good test for the Canadian bigs to deal with. We know what KAT brings to the table but Delgado is a physical presence who loves contact. Keeping him off the boards will be crucial in today's game.  

3:00 p.m. - The Dominican Republic hasn't played a game since Aug. 12. They'll play a back-to-back starting with Canada and then Spain on Saturday. It'll be interesting to see how the team manages minutes and rotations a week away from the real games.

2:44 p.m. - SGA getting warmed up ahead of the final tune-up before the World Cup starts next week.

pregame with Shai

🇨🇦🆚🇩🇴 coming up

💻: https://t.co/Hq1wmHoStx…#FIBAWC | #OneTeam pic.twitter.com/XIpGGPl7KO

— Canada Basketball (@CanBball) August 18, 2023

How to watch Team Canada vs Dominican Republic for free

• Date: Friday, Aug. 18
• Time: 3:30 p.m. ET | 12:30 p.m. PT
• TV channel: Not available
• Live stream: Courtside 1891

In the lead-up to the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Canada will face the Dominican Republic in an exhibition game on Friday, Aug. 18. The game is scheduled to start around 3:30 p.m. ET. It will be played at the Palacio Municipal de Deportes de Granada in Granada, Spain.

The game will be free for all on FIBA Basketball's official streaming service, Courtside 1891. All you have to do is sign up for Courtside 1891 here.

Team Canada exhibition schedule

Canada will play five games prior to the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. After facing Germany twice, New Zealand and Spain, Canada closed exhibition play against the Dominican Republic.

Team Canada roster for 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup

Here is where Canada's roster stands after news that Jamal Murray, Oshae Brissett, Cory Joseph and Kassius Robertson won't join the team for the World Cup:

When is the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup?

• Dates: Friday, Aug. 25 to Sunday, Sept. 10
• Where: Philippines, Japan and Indonesia

The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup is set to tip off on Friday, Aug. 25. The Group Stages will run through Sept. 3 with the single-elimination knockout stage beginning on Sept. 5. The tournament will conclude with the gold medal match on Sunday, Sept. 10.

Canada is in Group H with Latvia, Lebanon and France.