To The South: High-Scoring Shows Inspire Spectacular Wins

The first quartet of Round Six fixtures in the NBL each saw high-scoring, all-around performances from players who worked hard to help lift their team, some of them successfully and others falling short of the sought-after win.

Adelaide 36ers vs Melbourne United

Melbourne’s red hot start to the game, with 31 first quarter points to just eight from Adelaide, set the tone for the remainder. Their advantage reached 29 points in the second quarter, giving the 36ers an even bigger target to aim for, even with plenty of production from their front court trio of Isaac Humphries, Tony Crocker and Josh Giddey. Nine unanswered Adelaide points in the fourth quarter brought them to within just four points of Melbourne, but then saw a lot of shot attempts fall short.

With double-doubles from Mitch McCarron (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Jo Lual-Acuil (11 points, 10 rebounds), Melbourne got firmly back to winning ways with a commanding 82-73 win over the 36ers.

Sydney Kings vs New Zealand Breakers

The Breakers’ close-range shooting saw them finish the first quarter ahead by ten, the Kings responded at the start of the second with ten unanswered points, tying the scores before twelve more in a row from the Kings saw them lead by double digits.

Sydney’s lead reached twenty points behind their low-post play, while Thomas Abercrombie and Tai Webster tried to salvage some pride for the Breakers from beyond the arc, but Sydney held firm and saw out the win, 96-78. Corey Webster and Jordan Hunter both finished with 24 points for the Breakers and Kings respectively.

Cairns Taipans vs Brisbane Bullets

After a tight start to the game, 1 9-1 run from Perth gave them a big advantage at the end of the opening period. The Tapians took their time to bring down their deficit and levelled the scoreline late in the second quarter, but after going a point up in the third, they would score only nine points in the period, leaving the door open for the Wildcats to take a double-digit lead.

Four three-point shots in a row with Todd Blanchfield also finding scoring chances in the paint created a bigger and bigger lead for the Wildcats, despite late efforts from Mirko Djeric and Kouat Noi for Cairns. Cameron Oliver finished with a double-double, 19 points and 14 assists, in the Taipans loss. John Mooney also had a double-double in the game, 17 points and 12 rebounds, behind lead scorer Bryce Cotton who had 23 in Perth’s 89-69 defeat of Cairns.

Brisbane Bullets vs Illawarra Hawks

Twelve points in a row from the Hawks gave them an early ten-point lead, Nathan Sobey and Victor Law responded late in the opening quarter for Brisbane, putting them up two at the end of a high-scoring start to the game. The lead switched back and forth between the teams throughout Q2, with Illawarra trailing for the latter part of the period, at the end of which a three from Cameron Bairstow gave them a two-point half-time lead.

The Bullets opened the second half with fourteen points without reply, Tyler Harvey and Justinian Jessup combined to erase the Hawks’ deficit and put them up by one, but another run of nine points by Brisbane put them back in command. With no let up from Illawarra, Law and M Hodgson had to keep that lead alive in the fourth.

Eight points in a row from the Hawks put them up two with just over a minute remaining, but the Bullets played smart, defensive basketball, drew regular fouls and converted their free-throws to close out a close, sudden-death victory. Jessup led the Hawks with 26 points, but was outdone by 29 from Law, one of five Brisbane players to finish in double digits, in their 97-91 win.