South East Melbourne Phoenix is riding a wave of confidence after claiming a fourth consecutive victory, while Adelaide 36ers piled more pain on the Illawarra Hawks on Sunday.
The Phoenix showed its staying power, out-lasting a gritty Perth Wildcats 94-89 in a grind-it-out game at John Cain Arena.
It went down to the wire after a spectacular block from Phoenix guard Nathan Sobey denied a driving Wildcats centre Jo Lual-Acuil Jr late, but an offensive foul from Phoenix Next Star Malique Lewis on Dylan Windler gave the Wildcats a second look and guard Jaron Rillie drained a three to cut the deficit to just two with 42 seconds left.
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On the same dramatic play, Phoenix shooting guard Angus Glover sustained an ankle injury and had to be helped off the court wincing in pain.
But Phoenix found a way with Sobey hitting two free throws to restore a four-point lead for Phoenix with 24 seconds left before a contested rebound on a missed Kristian Doolittle shot went off the fingers of Windler and Phoenix held on.
It maintains Phoenix’s unbeaten record on their home floor, improving to 4-0 in front of their home fans and 6-2 overall on the season.
NEW CONTENDER?
The question remains though, are the Phoenix genuine championship contenders?
The answer to that might be found when they face undefeated crosstown rivals Melbourne United next Sunday, but they have a tricky trip to Tasmania to negotiate before that on Thursday night.
Sobey, the most prolific scorer for Phoenix this season, hunted his shot aggressively out of the blocks.
The captain landed two threes as part of an eight-point opening quarter that kept Phoenix in touch.
The hugely influential veteran finished with a game-high 22 points, including four threes, with five rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
When Phoenix needed a steadying influence, they turned to young guard Owen Foxwell.
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BACKCOURT BOOST
Foxwell has formed a lethal back court combination with Sobey and was again a menace with 20 points, five assists and two steals.
The Wildcats have significantly lengthened their lineup in the post-Bryce Cotton era, and it has ushered in a more unpredictable style of play with no over reliance on a single scorer.
No fewer than nine players got on the scoresheet and four players in double digits.
The go-to guy at the death was Doolittle, who finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.
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DOOLITTLE DOES A LOT
It would appear the Wildcats are now Doolittle’s team – even if there is more of a willingness to get others involved.
Wildcats centre Lual-Acuil Jr, strangely quiet in the first period, exploded to life in the second as the scores were level on 46 apiece at half-time.
Lual-Acuil Jr was restricted to 13 points – a definite win within the game for Phoenix.
The Wildcats answered a Phoenix 5-0 run at the start of the third with an 8-0 run of their own that was halted by a Jordan Hunter three.
Jaron Rillie, the son of Wildcats coach John, was superb in his first venture into Melbourne with 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
The Phoenix took a three-point lead into the fourth after a buzzer beating two from Brown almost lifted the roof off the arena.
After Phoenix opened up some breathing space with an eight-point lead, Wildcats guard Ben Henshall got the visitors back in the game with a pair of threes and it was a single basket game again.
It was the fresher Phoenix, playing their first game in eight days, who finished the game out stronger as they laid claim to the best-f-the-rest title at this stage of the season.
NBL SCOREBOARD
South East Melbourne Phoenix 94 (Sobey 22 Foxwell 20 Brown III 12) d Perth Wildcats 89 (Doolittle 19 Rilie 16 Windler 15)
At John Cain Arena, Melbourne.
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MORE HEARTBREAK FOR HAWKS IN NAIL-BITER
Adelaide 36ers piled more pain on the Illawarra Hawks on Sunday, pipping the defending NBL champions 90-88 in a thriller at Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
It was Illawarra’s sixth straight loss to the 36ers in Adelaide, stretching back to 2021, and the first victory for star guard Bryce Cotton against the Justin Tatum-coached Hawks.
Rebounding from the worst home-court loss in their history on Friday night, 102-60 to New Zealand Breakers, the Hawks showed more character and commitment but fell short.
Cotton (24 points, nine assists, two steals) left the door open for Illawarra when he made just one of two free throws for a 90-88 lead with 6.4 seconds remaining.
Illawarra guard Davo Hickey had a chance to force overtime when he was fouled with 1.6 seconds left but missed the first, then intentionally missed the second to give the Hawks a shot at a prayer, but Adelaide secured the defensive rebound and the win.
After a modest return in his comeback from an eye injury against the Breakers last Friday, Hickey (20 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, four blocked shots) flirted with a triple double in an inspirational performance for the Hawks, who fell to a 2-6 record.
With three minutes remaining, Cotton missed twice from three-point range but the Hawks could not keep Adelaide off the offensive glass. The ball fell to sharp-shooter DJ Vasiljevic (16 points) and his triple gave the 36ers an 85-80 lead which they never relinquished.
The teams were locked 41-41 at half-time after a tense, evenly matched first two quarters, in which there were 10 lead changes and five ties.
Adelaide led by as many as eight points late in the second period, but the Hawks responded with a 9-0 run to lead 37-36 in the final minute.
Dan Grida and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk took turns in tagging Cotton, holding the five-time NBL MVP to just one field goal in the second quarter and 11 points by half-time.
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THIRD-QUARTER THRUST
Illawarra scored the first seven points of the third quarter to build a 50-43 lead, which they stretched to 58-50 midway through the term.
But the 36ers, sparked by Cotton and Flynn Cameron (12 points) from the perimeter and Zylan Cheatham (13 points, 13 rebounds) inside, surged back on a 22-6 run over five minutes to lead 72-64, giving them all the momentum heading into the final quarter.
SORE POINT
The Hawks lost big man Jonah Bolden to a pelvic injury early in the second quarter.
One of two changes to Illawarra’s starting line-up, the former Philadelphia 76er had just two points, one rebound and one steal to his name when he left the game.
Bolden watched the rest of the contest from the bench with an icepack on his groin and hip and will be checked by Illawarra’s medical staff before their home game against Melbourne United on Wednesday.
PREMIER EVENT
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas and several Adelaide and Port Adelaide AFL stars were among the faces in the capacity crowd at Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
It was the 36ers’ 26th straight sell-out home crowd, and they can expect another one when they host Perth Wildcats next Sunday.
HOME SCHOOLING
Illawarra were without promising teenager Jackson Ball, who has gone back to school in his native New Zealand to sit exams.
The 17-year-old guard has started the past two games for the Hawks but was sparingly used in their 102-60 loss to the Breakers in Wollongong last Friday, sitting out the rest of the game after playing the first four minutes and 17 seconds.
“There really wasn’t too much behind it,” Hawks coach Justin Tatum explained.
“They [the Breakers] went at him the first couple of plays, then I wanted to start working on the rotation that we’ll see in the near future.
“Jackson has to go back to high school to sit some exams, so he’ll be missing the next five games, so we wanted to work the rotation that we know we’ll see for the next two weeks.”