A brilliant triple-double to Zylan Cheatham and a stunning third quarter from Bryce Cotton propelled the Adelaide 36ers to a commanding 28-point win in an at-times spiteful contest against the Illawarra Hawks on Saturday night.
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Cheatham was outstanding throughout to record his first NBL triple-double with 21 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 11 assists, while Cotton overcame a quiet first half to pour in 17 points in the third term at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
With the home side leading by 27 points late in the final term, William Hickey shoved Nick Rakocevic in the chest after his physical interaction with Makur Maker, which led to a heated all-in scuffle.
“This is getting out of hand now. We didn’t need this,” John Casey said in commentary.
Illawarra coach Justin Tatum held onto Rakocevic as the scrum rolled into the Hawks’ bench, with Maker ejected from the game for his part in the altercation.
Tatum took a dim view of the way the incident was officiated after the game.
“It was unfortunate. It’s unfortunate what the result was. What it seemed like for us is every time we find a way to get momentum and the lead or momentum and were playing well, the league sends us Chris Reid and we find a way not to have him as much as we can but at the end of the day we’ve still got to play through it. But I felt like really it was unfortunate to a point where (Maker) shouldn’t have been kicked out,” Tatum said.
“He should not have been kicked out, but if he was, then both of them (including Rakocevic) should have been kicked out. But Adelaide’s Adelaide, so it is what it is.
“They gave him one technical foul for retaliating and then an unsportsmanlike. We were trying to figure out where was the unsportsmanlike foul at. As soon as the ball went out of bounds Rakocevic clearly pushed him in the back and anybody will react to getting pushed in the back… we held MK back as much as we can. You see me trying to get Rakocevic out of the way to calm everything down. But there’s no way MK should have got two technical fouls and kicked out, and Adelaide shoot four free throws and get the ball.
“… We should have played better. We should have handled things better and unfortunately we didn’t.”
Teenager Raheim Brown Jr ended the game in fine style, the 16-year-old bringing the home fans to their feet with a last-gasp triple.
It was the seventh-ranked Sixers against the last-placed Hawks, but with a 5-6 win-loss record, Adelaide had just one more win than Tatum’s side.
The gap in class between the sides soon became evident, however, as the 36ers jumped out to a 12-point lead at half-time that turned into a 25-point deficit at the last break.
Three-point shooting was a feature of Adelaide’s win, the home side finishing with 14-of-29 shooting at 48 per cent to the Hawks’ 29 per cent.
The 36ers have struggled to look after the ball at times this season, but committed just eight turnovers to Illawarra’s 17.
It was Adelaide’s biggest win in a hot-and-cold first season under Trevor Gleeson.
“That’s how we want to play Adelaide 36ers basketball,” Gleeson said.
“It’s to defensively get after teams, offensively keep on sharing the ball, find the open man, and we executed great today.
“We’ve had a rough schedule at the start, without a question, and preparation time has been limited, especially at home, but we had some good practices this week.
“So, I’m really happy with how the guys played, and now the challenge for us is to be consistent.”
Breakers suffer fifth straight defeat | 01:14
Camera break
The home side led 38-29 midway through the second quarter when the game was stopped for several minutes.
The odd reason for the break was that Todd Blanchfield’s missed triple attempt had bounced behind the backboard and dislodged the broadcast camera.
The referees stopped the game for fear of the piece of equipment falling on a player, with play restarting after a ladder was eventually located and the camera back in position.
The break didn’t halt Adelaide’s momentum, with John Jenkins firing in four three-pointers for the term to lead his side with 15 points at the main break with perfect 5-of-5 shooting from long range.
Cotton had just four points on 1-of-9 shooting in the first half, but Cheatham (11 points) and Rakocevic (9) stepped up at the scoring end.
Tyler Harvey had a game-high 17 points at halftime, but Illawarra turned the ball over 11 times and trailed by 12 points.
No other Hawk had double figures with Kelan Martin next best with seven, while Maker scoreless and Sam Froling and Milton Doyle with three points apiece.
Cotton fires
The Sixers accelerated away with an impressive 23-10 run to start the second half after a cold Cotton got hot.
The superstar was leading Illawarra on his own late in the third term with his 17 points to the visitors’ 15 as he put on a shooting masterclass.
Heading into the round, Adelaide ranked ninth in the league for points per game with an average of 91, but Trevor Gleeson’s side had 85 on the board at the last break.
Road warriors
Saturday night’s clash was Illawarra’s third in a hectic five games on the road in 15 days.
Wins against the Wildcats in Perth and the Taipans in Cairns got the mega road trip off on a good note before the loss to the Sixers, with games against South East Melbourne and a return trip to Perth to come before they head home.
The 36ers are back in action on Thursday night when Melbourne United visit the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
UNITED IMPORT’S SUPER-EFFICIENT STATEMENT
Red-hot Melbourne United made it four wins on the trot on a night when sanctioned superstar Cole Anthony continued his running battle with the NBL referees.
Superbly led by imports Anthony and Josh Oduro, United were in command at John Cain Arena on Saturday night after going on a scintillating 12-0 run early in the first quarter, powering away to a 120-92 victory over an undermanned Brisbane Bullets.
United demonstrated once again that it has absolutely nailed their imports.
Anthony ran rampant en route to 32 points, six assists and three rebounds.
The fired up 26-year-old sliced through the Bullets defence like a hot knife through butter for an exquisite 13/14 (92.9%) from the field.
Anthony put a scare through the United camp when he slipped on a court decal late in the game, but walked off unassisted.
Oduro continues to be a force inside the paint.
The 26-year-old centre dismantled Bullets centre Tyrell Harrison in a dominant 28-point, 14-rebound game.
It was a familiar tale in one of the league’s most lop-sided rivalries with United making it six straight wins over the Bullets and 18 of their past 19 dating back to the 2020/21 season.
Melbourne United beat hapless Breakers | 00:57
More Bullets pain
The Bullets’ horror night was compounded by an injury to import Jaylin Williams.
Williams exited with a shoulder injury after what appeared to be light contact from United defender Sam Waardenburg.
The Bullets could ill afford to lose another body with star import Arnas Velicka, Max Mackinnon, Sam McDaniel and Jacob Holt already sidelined.
All eyes were on United superstar Anthony after the NBL sanction earlier in the day.
An NBL statement read: ‘A sanction has been accepted by Melbourne player Cole Anthony after demonstrating conduct unbecoming during NBL matches on October 31 and November 2. Basketball Australia’s integrity unit concluded that Anthony was in breach of the Code of Conduct [elite participants]. No further comment will be made by Basketball Australia on this matter’.
Anthony was again in the doghouse with the referees, picking up two early fouls and checking out with 7.44 left in the first quarter to avoid slipping further into foul trouble.
When Anthony returned, he did a silent protest, defending with his hands crossed behind his back.
Cole fire
But when Anthony was in the thick of the action, he was cooking.
United had amassed a lead beyond 20 in the first half and it was largely to do with Anthony’s influence, who had 16 points on 7/7 shooting in the first half.
United was in total command in the first half, taking a 14-point lead into half time.
Oduro had racked up a double double by half time and will surely start to enter into the MVP conversation.
Harrison’s only points in the first half came in the last minute of the second quarter and summing up a brutal night for him was a travel in open court.
Lay Mayen (15 points) and Mitch Norton (13) battled hard off the bench for the Bullets, but their starting unit was swamped from the outset.
The three-ball, eight in the first half, kept the Bullets in the game, but it was their hustle in the third quarter that made things uncomfortable for a United side that had coasted until the half.
United was never in serious trouble though, racking up their biggest score (120) of the season for a 28-point win to improve to 7-5 on the season and breathing down the necks of ladder leaders Tasmania JackJumpers and Sydney Kings.