NBL, Round 18: Adelaide 36ers secure crunch win, Melbourne United secure thumping win over Brisbane, Taipans upset Perth
The Adelaide 36ers push for a playoff spot went up another level with a crucial win against the NZ Breakers in what was a heated clash on Montrezl Harrell’s birthday. Catch up on the latest NBL news.
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The surging Adelaide 36ers’ charge to the NBL playoffs continued against the New Zealand Breakers, Montrezl Harrell celebrating his birthday in fine style and Kendric Davis pushing his MVP case in a pulsating 16-point win.
Fiery fan favourite Harrell turned 31 on Sunday and blew out the candles with a typically entertaining, game-high 26 points and eight rebounds, while Davis continued a rich vein of form with 23 points and an NBL season-high 13 assists in front of yet another sellout crowd at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
Adelaide never trailed and led by as much as 28 points across the first three quarters, with that lead whittled down to 21 entering the final term, the Sixers cruising to the win with the home fans backing in their man Davis with a spirited “MVP! MVP!” chant.
The result was the Sixers’ sixth win from their past eight games, strengthening their hold on sixth spot on the ladder with a 13-13 record that looked unlikely as their season, marred by suspensions, injuries and internal discord, threatened to spiral out of control at 7-11.
“I think that this team is in a completely different place,” coach Mike Wells said.
“I think this has been one of the toughest stretches that anyone has had to play.
“So, credit to our guys … our level of communication and organisation and attention to detail on the defensive end is night-and-day different.
“Those guys are talking, saying the right things, and everything that we’ve done has been on the defensive end, to be honest with you.”
With star guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright out injured, the Breakers struggled mightily on offence, Mojave King the only New Zealand player with double-figure points after three quarters, finishing with a team-high 20.
BIRTHDAY BLUE
Things got heated just two minutes into the game when Jonah Bolden and Harrell clashed.
There was plenty of barking between the two after Bolden was called for a foul on Harrell, but the situation escalated when Bolden put Harrell on the floor as he cut to the basket soon after.
With memories of Harrell’s suspension for his part in the ugly scenes against Melbourne United still fresh, hearts were in mouths when the fiery import jumped up and charged at Bolden.
But the birthday boy only shoved his opponent, with coach Mike Wells among the Sixers quick to defuse the situation.
Adelaide led 4-3 when the push-and-shove kicked off and went on an 8-0 run with the roaring crowd in full voice.
The pair clashed again late in the second quarter when Bolden was called for an offensive foul when he caught Harrell with an errant arm as he drove to the basket.
Harrell collapsed to the floor, but was able to head to the locker room for treatment and played the second half with a plaster over his left eye.
LONG-RANGE NZ
The Sixers shot at 61 per cent from the floor and led 27-15 at the first break, with all of the visitors’ points coming from long range.
Unable to get anything going inside, the Breakers shot 5-from-11 from three-point range in the first quarter.
They kept up the long-range barrage in the second, but were just 7-from-24 at halftime, with Adelaide 4-from-9 in response.
The visitors threw up 43 attempts from long range in the game and made 15 of them at 34 per cent, with the 36ers 8-from-20 from outside the arc.
PLAYOFF PUZZLE
The Brisbane Bullets and Tasmania JackJumpers have been involved in a three-way dogfight with the 36ers for sixth spot, but the Bullet’s big loss to Melbourne United looks to have put paid to their chances.
That leaves Tasmania as Adelaide’s major rival for the final playoff berth.
Both teams have three regular season games remaining, with the Sixers a game ahead of the seventh-placed JackJumpers.
Adelaide hosts Brisbane on Friday night in its last home game of the season then is on the road to finals-bound teams South East Melbourne Phoenix and the Perth Wildcats.
The JackJumpers play the top two teams on the NBL ladder, the Illawarra Hawks at home and Melbourne United away, then host cellar dwellers Cairns Taipans in a clash that could be the final piece in the playoff puzzle.
Melbourne United deliver another blow to injury hit Brisbane
The Brisbane Bullets will not feature in the 2025 NBL postseason after Melbourne United booted them from playoff contention with a comprehensive routing at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
Bullets fans, players and coaching staff will be left to wonder what could have been after the injury-ridden club crashed further down to earth with the 115-88 loss spelling wraps for their 2024-25 campaign.
With key forwards Josh Bannan, Tyrell Harrison and Rocco Zikarsky and elite guard James Batemon among those out injured for the home side, United took advantage of the glaring chinks in Brisbane’s armour.
It took just 10 minutes before the visitors piled on the pain in a fine display of shooting (53% FG), athleticism and execution.
The visitors’ dominance was evident from the outset, with Matt Dellavedova orchestrating the offence (6 assists), Ian Clark lighting it up from beyond the arc (24pts, 5-13 on three-pointers), and Melbourne’s clear size advantage making life difficult for the Bullets.
At first quarter time the scores were level at 26-all. Quickly, in front of a packed house, the title contenders showed who was boss in their seventh straight game on the road - five of which they’ve won.
Talk about hitting your straps at the right time.
SECOND QUARTER WOES
United ran all over Brisbane in the second quarter to establish a healthy 21-point lead heading into the second half (61-40).
Brisbane never recovered.
Chris Goulding was on a heater, ‘Delly’ was dishing out dimes left, right and centre, Jack White was cutting to the cup with force and always loomed a menace in transition.
Melbourne’s championship pedigree was on show for all who filed into the BEC for one last time this season.
“It has been amazing. A new arena for us, a new home. It was a lot of firsts for us this year… the BEC has been amazing to us. We are excited for what’s building,” Brisbane captain Mitch Norton said.
The visitors reeled in 21 rebounds to Brisbane’s 15 in the first half and tightened the screws on defence to force the Bullets into tough shots. United forced a costly six turnovers from Brisbane in the second to have them reeling with one half left to play.
The home side then trailed by as many as 31 (95-64) at the start of the fourth and the silence was loud as United continued to fire on all cylinders.
In the process of shutting out Brisbane’s main man Casey Prather (15pts), United snared top spot on the ladder.
The big win also keeps Melbourne in the box seat to finish at least second, which would guarantee a playoff berth.
MARCUS LEE STANDS OUT
United forward Marcus Lee was a standout offering quality over quantity in his short time on the court. The athletic big man stunned the crowd with two thunderous dunks in the first half. His energy was contagious and United fed off his rim rattling jam over Callum Dalton to mount a 35-14 second quarter and 26-21 third quarter showing.
He almost had a third poster, this time on Tohi Smith-Milner but he was fouled in the process. What a finish it would have been for the 211cm American with springs under him.
Lee’s vertical leap was only overshadowed by Ian Clarke’s 9-0 individual scoring spurt in the second half that nailed the coffin shut and 36-year-old Chris Goulding, who wound back the clock with a stunning slam dunk in the third.
“He’s going to bring it up everyday,” Ian Clark laughed.
“Hopefully that inspires him (Dellavedova) to get one,” Dean Vickerman added.
“It was good to see CJ smash one down.”
Clark said he drew confidence from his 16- point game against Perth on Wednesday.
“I hold myself to a high standard because I try to work really hard.. You never want to let those guys down (guys in the locker room),” Clark said.
“To come out and have a game today is not really about me; it’s a product of how we’re all playing.
“We got some selfless guys who make plays for each other. It is fun playing it that way.”
SCHUELLER’S OPTIMISM MOVING FORWARD
If losing in-form forward Josh Bannan (concussion) wasn’t bad enough already for Brisbane, the home side had to find a way without three-point specialist Keandre Cook, who missed the entire second half.
Cook dropped 26 points in Friday’s win against the Breakers but experienced chest pains which forced him to the locker room when the game was in the balance.
“We are concerned but know he is in good hands right now. We will know in time what that looks like,” Brisbane coach Justin Scheuller said of Cook, who was taken to Hospital.
Although Brisbane’s playoff hopes are gone, Schueller is still optimistic that the squad could challenge for the playoffs next year, if they have a better run with injuries.
“We have a vision of where we want this club to go. We are all impatient. Right now, that’s where I can’t handle things going against us,” he said.
“We are very confident in the forward steps we are taking. I love this group…. We are not dead yet.
“It’s the big what if in my mind. What could this group look like if they were at full strength? We have had to change and move so many parts this year.”
Waardenburg’s block trumps Perth in double overtime epic
An emphatic block on former teammate Keanu Pinder sealed a massive night for Taipans big Sam Waardenburg, as Cairns stunned the Wildcats 125-116 in a double overtime epic.
And it strikes a big blow to Perth’s hopes of a top two finish, with the Wildcats left one win behind the safe zone with just two games to go in the regular season.
“That’s what I’ve always said, I love the guys,” said Taipans coach Adam Forde.
“When we’re down on numbers, down on players, they roll up.
“They didn’t deserve the 15 game losing streak, but we made the adjustments and now we’re enjoying the fruits.”
With a six-point lead and 2:41 left on the clock in double overtime, Waardenburg put his body on the line to rob Pinder, who spent two breakout seasons in Cairns, of a dunk which would have put Perth back in the hunt.
Waardenburg spent the entire second half of the contest on triple-double watch, but finished just shy of the milestone with an absurd stat line of 24 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, two steals and two blocks before controversially fouling out with less than 90 seconds to go.
The second block was the decisive play as the Taipans, in one of their worst NBL campaigns on record, stunned the heavyweights and championship contenders.
Both sides had a chance to finish the game at the end of the first period of overtime but Bryce Cotton missed a rare free throw shot with 16 seconds left, before Cairns’ Rob Edwards bricked two free throws with just two seconds left.
Cairns shot out to a seven-point lead within 90 seconds of the second overtime period, but managed to hold on for the incredible win.
The game swung wildly in regulation, as Cairns led by nine at halftime, before Perth reversed that margin to open up their own nine-point lead at three-quarter time.
The Taipans fought back, with a Pedro Bradshaw lay-up with eight seconds to go sealing a 100-100 stalemate at fulltime.
Edwards topscored for the Snakes with 30 points, while Tanner Groves (22pts) also contributed heavily as the Taipans showed fight across the board.
Cotton (38pts, 8 reb, a steal and a block) and Pinder (29pts, 11reb, 3 blocks and a steal) led the way for the Wildcats.
TASSIE HURT AS PHOENIX STAY IN RACE FOR TOP TWO
- Lance Jenkinson
On the back of four wins in five games over a gruelling 11-day stretch, South East Melbourne Phoenix star Matt Hurt said his team can now sit comfortably alongside the top tier teams in the competition.
Hurt stopped short of saying Phoenix is the team to beat, but there is a case to be made after going 8-2 over the past 10 games, taking down top two sides Illawarra Hawks and Melbourne United in the process.
“I’m always confident,” he said.
“I think our team structure is great from top to bottom.
“I’m not going to put a target on our back, but I think we’re one of the best teams for sure.”
The Phoenix showed its ruthlessness in a runaway 116-80 win over defending champions
Tasmania JackJumpers at the State Basketball Centre on Saturday night.
Josh King’s team piled on a massive 70 points after half time to turn a one-point half-time lead into a 36-point drubbing.
Import Joe Wieskamp might have finally unlocked his full potential after a frustrating start to his first season with Phoenix, which included being a healthy scratch for a game.
Hurt knew it would have dented the pride of Wieskamp, a former NBA player, to be left out of the team by the coach, but he watched proudly as his long time friend worked his way back into the Phoenix team.
“Obviously a DNP-coach’s decision is never easy,” Hurt said.
“I think right after that, there was the FIBA break I believe, he came into practice every single day and just worked his butt off.
“I’ve known Joe for a while now going back to high school and I think he’s one of the best players in the competition.
“I think he’s one of the best defensive players and offensive players in this competition.”
Hurt still sees growth in the Phoenix.
That improvement is coming from depth players such as Matt Kenyon and Ben Ayre, who have picked up extra minutes because of the hamstring injury to point guard Derrick Walton Jr.
Kenyon was credited by coach King for his defensive efforts changing the momentum of the game against the JackJumpers.
“Matt Kenyon, he guards me sometimes at practice and it’s not fun I’ll tell you that,” Hurt said.
“Ben Ayre, I just love his game.
“At practice, you guys don’t see it, he pushes us to, especially our guards, be better.”
From 0-5 to one of the team’s to beat, Hurt said Phoenix’s rise came on the back of a willingness to work hard.
“Obviously starting 0-5 is never great,” he said.
“I think we just kept fronting up to work every day.
“Games are once or twice a weekend, so practice time was very key.
“I think just having great practice, great preparation, I think we’ve done that.”
Hurt said it was important Phoenix remained focused with a tough run of matches leading into the playoffs, starting with Friday night’s clash with Perth Wildcats away at RAC Arena.
“Coach said that we can’t be comfortable that we are winning games and climbing the ladder, we’ve always got to stay humble and I think we’re doing that,” he said.
“We’ve got a big one next Friday and we’re locked in for that one for sure.”
NBL SCOREBOARD
South East Melbourne Phoenix 116 (Hurt 29 Wieskamp 20 Foxwell) defeated Tasmania JackJumpers 80 (Crawford 18 Stoddart 14)
At the State Basketball Centre, Wantirna South
36ers clinch crucial win to join NBL’s top six, Bullets pile pressure
Adelaide’s ascension into the NBL’s top six is complete as Sydney blew a golden opportunity to move into outright second.
With the game in the balance throughout the contest, star guard Kendric Davis showed why he is firmly in the MVP conversation, dropping 30 points and six assists to take over when it counted.
Davis helped to spearhead a key 13-0 run in the third term as he and Montrezl Harrell combined to score 22 of Adelaide’s 26 points in the period to open up a five-point advantage with one to play.
They started the fourth hot and never looked in any danger as they claimed their third win over the Kings this season, this time to the tune of
The win helps the 36ers leapfrog Tasmania into sixth, while the Kings slipped to fourth
ADELAIDE’S HOT START STUNS KINGS
The last time these two teams met the game was over by the end of one quarter.
Adelaide led 32-12 and it’s the one fixture this season that saw Brian Goorjian upset by the lack of effort from his team.
While there was clear improvement on the offensive end from that disaster, their defence left a lot to be desired as they allowed the 36ers to shoot at 78 per cent from the field in the first quarter to take a commanding 34-23 lead through one.
ADAMS GOES OFF
Kouat Noi has been the man for Sydney in recent times, but a second quarter Jaylen Adams explosion helped the Kings overcome a sluggish start.
The star point guard piled on 17 points in the term (7-9 FG) as the Kings outscored the 36ers 32-18 in the period as the visitors cooled off in a big way.
An Adams triple right on the buzzer saw them take a three-point lead into the main break, bringing the crowd right back into the contest.
Adams finished with a career-high 43 points, bettering his previous high of 41 set last month.
GONE IN 54 SECONDS
It took Goorjian just 54 seconds into the fourth quarter to call a timeout as the Kings watched the game slip through their fingers.
Two airballs, two fouls and a pair of made shots from Adelaide saw the visitors open up a nine-point lead in less than a minute.’
BULLET STARS IN HOMECOMING
- by Nick Tucker
Born and raised New Zealander Tohi Smith-Milner has kept the Brisbane Bullets playoff hopes alive after he scored the match-sealing bucket in a thrilling Friday night encounter with the BNZ Breakers at Wolfbrook Arena.
The thickly set centre, a product of Auckland, moved mountains guarding the ginormous Tacko Fall while Brisbane were without injured seven-foot duo Rocco Zikarsky and Tyrell Harrison and the reward was an essential 93-87 triumph.
He saved his best for last when a floater from in close handed Brisbane an all-important 91-87 lead with under 20 seconds to play.
It was life or death for Brisbane, who needed a victory to keep their season alive. They still need to beat Melbourne United, Adelaide and Cairns in their final three matches to be a chance of making the play-in but what a drought-breaker it was across the ditch.
Smith-Milner, the former Tall Blacks representative, added the vital finishing touches after Keandre Cook (26pts, 6 asts) lit the fire beneath an injury-ridden team that had lost eight of its last nine games and were bested by 34 on Monday against the Hawks.
Mid range master Casey Prather, almost a lock for All NBL First Team selection, showed his class again with a light 27 points and eight rebounds. Star Breakers guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright was equally impressive scoring 19 points, dishing out nine assists and creating countless open looks for his teammates.
The Breakers were left to find a way to win without ‘PJC’ in the final five minutes after the star guard left the court with a rib injury. Cook had elbowed him unintentionally defending him on the fast break and it proved costly.
Matt Mooney stood tall (24pts) as himself and Josh Bannan (17pts) traded tough buckets in the final three minutes.
SMITH-MILNER MAGIC IN THE HOMELAND
New Zealand International Smith-Milner was a rock for the Bullets.
The powerful centre handled the Tacko Fall assignment in style, restricting the 229cm giant to just 12 points and five rebounds.
Smith-Milner had 10 points, seven rebounds and held his ground in the paint where Fall could have been the difference.
In the final three minutes, a stunning lay-in through contact by Smith-Milner gave the Bullets a crucial seven-point buffer. With 18 seconds left on the clock, a clinical floater by Smith-Milner handed Brisbane a telling 91-87 lead and that was game.
“He is someone that we brought in for his shooting as a big. Now we are asking him to anchor that spot,” Brisbane coach Justin Schueller said.
“He is a super smart IQ basketball player.”
COOKING ACROSS THE TASMAN
Earlier, streaky three-point flamethrower Cook had it going for Brisbane in the first frame, pouring in three triples to pull his team out of an early rut to lead 21-19 entering the second.
The deadly but inconsistent Cook drained three of his five attempts from deep and played all 10 minutes. He pulled it back for Brisbane after they produced just two points in the opening four minutes and trailed by as many as 10.
“Massive effort by the boys. The amount of adversity this group has faced… We were talking about we are not dead yet and that was the resolve we saw,” Schueller said.
“How we weathered it after that moment (being down big early) was pretty impressive.”
With just under four minutes left in the second quarter, Cook had 16 points to his name. Casey Prather, having laced four treys, was his partner in crime and it remained that way before a bruising Bannan was to the fore in the clutch.
“Having the mentality to stand together (was key),” Cook said.
“The season is not over. We are going through tough things but we still have a great team.”
SHOTS NOT FALL’N
‘Hack a Shaq’ was in full effect for the Brisbane defenders, who were more than willing to put BNZ Breakers centre Fall on the free throw line.
From the charity stripe Fall hit just two of his seven attempts in the first half and couldn’t spring free from gallant Bullets’ big men Toni Smith-Milner and makeshift centre Josh Bannan to leave his stamp on the match.
After coming to life in his previous two games, Breakers forward Sam Mennenga put up just one shot through the first quarter while the shifty Parker Jackson-Cartwright had seven assists at the end of the first. He could not add to his tally in the second as Brisbane snatched momentum to take a 46-40 lead into the main break.
Cook (19pts), was hard to contain and maintained the rage in the third where he swatted a Jonah Bolden layup off the glass and was as plucky and disruptive as ever (two steals).
TAIPANS SHOCK HAWKS - AGAIN
- by Gyan-Reece Rocha
Bottom-placed Taipans led by Alex Higgins-Titsha and Sam Waardenburg have shocked league-leaders Hawks once again, breaking a 10-game home losing streak in the process.
Considered the ‘upset of the season’ in the Cairns side’s 108-105 win earlier this month, Taipans stunned the contenders once again with a 100-94 victory.
It came just days after Adam Forde’s brutal post match conference where he called out his starting five for their underwhelming performance against the Bullets on Sunday night.
The Cairns team came out firing from the opening tip-off, dominating the rebounds and blowing out the margin to 15 points in the first quarter.
Hawks crawled their way back in the second half, with their bench including William Hickey (10 points, eight rebounds and five assists) and Todd Blanchfield keeping their side in the contest.
Hawks sharpshooter Todd Blanchfield turned back the clock in an ice cold fourth quarter.
The Mackay-born fired home 17 points with the 33-year old knocking down 5-9 from three.
OFFENSIVE MASTERCLASS
Night and day from the stagnant offence Cairns saw just four days prior, with the home side lethal on the fast break, constantly looking for the extra pass and shifting the Hawks defence side to side.
Playing inspired basketball, it was Cairns equal-best first quarter for the season with 31 points with prodigy Higgins-Titsha – in his fourth start for the season – cracking open the contest with nine points and four offensive rebounds and two dominant dunks in the opening term.
The 24-year old’s explosiveness and energy on both sides of the floor has brought a much-needed dynamic to the team, with the athletic forward stamping his authority on the NBL in his debut season.
Waardenburg looked back to his best after a string of quiet games with the versatile New Zealand native putting up 18 points, six rebounds and three assists with a big-time final term.
Rob Edwards – starting at point guard in Taran Armstrong’s (back soreness) absence – made his presence felt in the clutch with 22 points and three assists.
The experienced Kyle Adnam shouldered much more of the playmaking load without their starting point guard.
Taipans shared the load with six players in double figures for points.
COSTLY HERO BALL
Hawks superstars Trey Kell (13 points from 4-12 FG) and Tyler Harvey (17 points from 7-16 FG) ran a number of unnecessarily isolated scoring possessions, playing hero ball on a number of occasions.
With one and eight turnovers at halftime.
The Hawks bench kept the visiting side in the game, coming to life in the second half and cutting the margin down to within a single possession despite the early blowout.
Justin Tatum opted for a sniper line-up in the fourth quarter, spreading the floor with multiple shooters which brought the side back from the dead.
Ultimately, the costly opening quarter cost the side the result.
PAINT PITBULL
Tanner Groves has arguably become the Taipans most crucial player.
A threat in both the post and from range, his rebounding, screening and post presence has been critical.
Even in defeats, the Washington-born big man has been a pitbull in the paint and appears to have cut down on his persistent fouls that plagued him earlier in the season.
Signed to a one-year contract, he’s a player the Orange Army would welcome back with open arms in NBL26.
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Originally published as NBL, Round 18: Adelaide 36ers secure crunch win, Melbourne United secure thumping win over Brisbane, Taipans upset Perth
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