To The South: Four Thunderous Games

Round six of the NBL came to an end with a quartet of high-energy, top-quality basketball where each team in every game fought a pitched battle to ensure they would come away with the win.

Illawarra Hawks vs New Zealand Breakers

After a stringy start, both Tyler Harvey and Cameron Bairstow made advantage of Breakers mistakes, as did Deng Deng, who took Illawarra to a seventeen-point lead by the end of the first half. Tai Webster and Lamar Patterson kept finding looks for the Kiwi team from close range, but on defence the Breakers struggled to contain the Hawks in the low post.

Terrific three-point shooting from the Hawks – finishing with sixteen in the game – kept them in command throughout the final quarter. Even with the points still coming in from Corey and Tai Webster, finishing with 22 and 20 respectively, and Colton Iverson scoring 13 and grabbing 17 total boards for the Breakers, the game had got away from them. Harvey was once again the leader for Illawarra, scoring 22 points with Justinian Jessup contributing 20 in their 102-88 win over the New Zealand Breakers.

Melbourne United vs Cairns Taipans

Carins began the game with a 7-0 run and a streak of ten points unanswered and in the second quarter, Kouat Noi and Mirko Djeric combined to make their lead reach double-digits. Mitch McCarron’s three-point shooting and 13 points in two minutes got Melbourne to within two of the Taipans in the third quarter.

The Taipans kept trying to increase the gap, but quick to militarise on offence, Melbourne kept it close between the two teams, with Scotty Hopson giving them the lead midway through the final quarter. Ten points in two minutes between McCarron and Yudai Baba increased that lead late in the game.

Scott Machado was not about to let his team go without a fight, getting Cairns to within three before Melbourne went up 88-81 in the final minute. With all subsequent shot attempts falling short, that would be the final score. Noi had a game high 27 points in the Taipans loss, with McCarron and Baba both finishing on 17 points, behind Melbourne’s top scorer Jock Landale with 18 in the win.

Sydney Kings vs Perth Wildcats

After Perth took an early lead of six points, five lead changes followed and two threes from Didi Louzada put Sydney in front by ten. Bryce Cotton and John Mooney tried to narrow the gap from close range but Louzada and Casper Ware, firing from all spots on the floor, kept the Kings in command before Mitchell Norton made it a single-possession game and Luke Travers levelled the scores two minutes from half-time.

Dejan Vasiljevic gave Sydney the lead at the half, before Mooney returned it to the Wildcats, who then scored ten unanswered and led for the remainder of the third by double digits. Cotton, Mooney and Todd Blanchfield kept finding plenty of scoring chances in the fourth quarter, where Sydney bided their time. Casper Ware closed the gap to three points in the last thirty seconds of the game, but Cotton and Mooney put up the last points of the game, bringing the final score 113-106 in Perth’s favour.

Casper Ware was the game leader with 34 points for the Kings in their loss, Cotton had 30 for the Wildcats, as did Mooney who also grabbed 16 total rebounds as well as the W for Perth.

Adelaide 36ers vs South East Melbourne

The Phoenix prevented the 36ers from getting away from them early in the first quarter and late in the second, at the end of which Adelaide led by a single point. The teams remained tangled at the start of the second half until an eight-point run from the 36ers, followed by Jack McVeigh putting them ahead by seventeen points.

Mitch Creek and Yannick Wetzell brought the gap down to three points midway through the fourth quarter and Reuben Te Rangi, with an and-one play, made it a one-point game in the final minute. Isaac Humphries and Sunday Dech’s high-percentage shots put the 36ers further in front and with SEM seeing all of their shots fall short, the final result went Adelaide’s way.

Once again, the Phoenix were led by Creek with 23 points and 12 total rebounds, while Daniel Johnson was the game’s top scorer with 27 points and Humphries had 24 for Adelaide, who broke their two-game losing skid with the 99-94 win.