Rockets' Dillon Brooks: Canada's 'Putting The World On Notice'

Houston Rockets small forward Dillon Brooks has established his role as one of Canada's leaders after their dominant FIBA World Cup victory over France.

Canada was winning its FIBA World Cup tournament opener against France by just three points (43-40) at halftime on Friday.

Houston Rockets/Canada small forward Dillon Brooks established his role as a "leader with vocal presence" early on and at halftime.

"We started off slow and I tried to create some energy early on," Brooks told Sportsnet’s Arash Madani after the game. "I told the guys just to stick with it. (Point guard) Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) started off slow, but he's an All-Star who knows how to get it done."

Canada rallied in the second half and dominated France 95-65 and allowed just eight points in the third quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander started 2-of-9 from the field in the first half but finished the game with 27 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.

Brooks scored 12 points in the win and was a plus-33 while he was on the court for Canada.

Brooks assured the remaining teams that Canada is here to stay.

"This was the beginning of claiming who we are as a country and a team," Brooks said. "(We're) putting the world on notice. (We're) not playing (around). We missed a couple of World Cups, but we're ready to go and play. It's no joke and we're playing with that same intensity and fire every time we go on that floor."

If Brooks didn't "create energy" at halftime, who knows if Canada would've won the game?

After one match, Canada is tied with Latvia at the top of Group H with two points. They'll face fellow Group H member, Lebanon on Sunday and then Latvia on Tuesday.

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You can follow Hunter De Siver on Twitter @HunterDeSiver.

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