NBL25 Round 3: Humphries, Vasiljevic, lead Adelaide 36ers to dominant win over Phoenix
Isaac Humphries and Dejan Vasiljevic have starred to send the 36ers on their way to their first win of the new NBL season.
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That’s more like it, Adelaide!
The fired-up 36ers bounced back from an 0-2 start to storm to their first win under new coach Mike Wells, Isaac Humphries and DJ Vasiljevic starring in a commanding win that consigned South East Melbourne to an 0-4 record.
Playing in front of their adoring fans at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre for the first time in NBL25, the Sixers led from start to finish on Thursday night, riding a much-improved defensive performance to a 10-point result to make it six wins in a row at home.
Vasiljevic had scored 20 or more points in his past seven games, the longest such streak in the NBL, and the skipper made it eight in a row with his 22 points, while Humphries snapped out of an indifferent start to the season to finish with 22 as well.
The Phoenix trailed by as much as 20 points and was 13 down heading into the final term, import Matt Hurt playing a lone hand on offence with a game-high 32 points.
The visitors rallied to make it a nine-point game with five minutes remaining, but the steely Sixers held their nerve.
ICE HEATS UP
Humphries managed just five points from 10 attempts from the floor across his first two games, but the star centre shook off his early-season lethargy in a stirring opening blitz by the home side.
Vasiljevic made sure to find his teammate early and Ice responded with six points in the first five minutes of the game.
Adelaide led by nine points at the first break, with the ice-cold visitors shooting at just 6-from-20 from the floor and 1-from-9 from three-point land in the first term.
Humphries had a game-high 12 points on 5-from-6 shooting four minutes into the second term as the red-hot Sixers stormed to a 45-25 lead.
“We’ve had a weird start (to the season) and I’ve had a very weird start,” Humphries told ESPN at half-time.
“There’s been a few moving pieces within the team with personnel and stuff like that we’ve had to figure out … every day we’re getting better at it.”
THE MONTREZL EFFECT
Wells saw enough from Montrezl Harrell in the first two games to put the energetic American into the starting line-up and he didn’t disappoint.
With his side’s defensive efforts under the microscope, Harrell set the tone with a game-high seven rebounds in the first half, six of those on the defensive end, with one monster block and he was unlucky to be whistled on another shot he sent packing.
Harrell’s first points came as time ran out in the first quarter, the imposing big man gathering a missed shot and elevating high above the rim to throw down a commanding dunk that had the home fans in full voice.
Such was the energy he put into the jam, Harrell fell almost flat on his back but was still pumping up the crowd as he lay on the floor.
Harell was fired up after his second block in the third quarter, but earned himself a tech foul for his shove on Tom Vodanovich after the Phoenix big man fouled Kendric Davis.
CONDUCIVE?
Import Kendric Davis was in the news during the week after he took umbrage to a journalist opining on social media as to whether his play was conducive to winning in the NBL.
“I’m (going to) make sure we revisit this tweet in a few months,” Davis fired back.
The American didn’t need to wait that long, pouring in 21 points, with four steals and handing off seven assists in an impressive display.
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Originally published as NBL25 Round 3: Humphries, Vasiljevic, lead Adelaide 36ers to dominant win over Phoenix
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