Adelaide 36ers ‘beat the heat’ and turn up the pressure on NBL champion New Zealand with big road win

IT was a steamy, muggy night last night in Auckland but the more the heat intensified, the cooler Adelaide became, holding out NBL champion New Zealand 87-81.

NZ Breakers vs Adelaide 36ers, LtoR Cedric Jackson & Daniel Johnson Round 14, NBL 2016, NSEC, Auckland | Darren White

IT was a steamy, muggy night last night in Auckland but the more the heat intensified, the cooler Adelaide became, holding out NBL champion New Zealand 87-81.

The contest poised precariously at the precipice with Breakers forward Tom Abercrombie shooting two free throws to cut into the 36ers’ 78-75 lead, 2:43 left on the clock, Jerome Randle and Daniel Johnson again lit the path to victory.

Abercrombie aborted both freebies, Johnson converted two at the other end and the Sixers had breathing space.

Ahead 81-76 with 1:15 left, characteristic Anthony Petrie hustle meant Adelaide came up with the ball when Johnson missed the second freebie in a second set of foul shots.

Randle quickly was fouled and with 66 seconds to go, he coolly iced two free throws.

At 83-76 ahead, Adelaide’s third win in a row looked academic until NBL scoring leader Corey Webster struck a three to give New Zealand hope.

Randle again strolled back to the stripe, stuck another 4-of-4 in two separate trips, holding out any further threat.

The diminutive point guard finished with 25 points and a game-high eight assists, and went 7-of-7 from the free throw line.

Johnson had 25 points at 80 per cent, with a game-high 12 rebounds, the duo outstanding throughout.

But there was much more to it with Petrie setting an aggressive tone from the tip-off as Adelaide took the early ascendancy and was never headed.

Twice, at 18-18 and 65-65, the Breakers pulled level but with Webster held to 12 points on 5-of-20 shooting, Cedric Jackson 16 on 6-of-15 and imposing big-man import Charles Jackson contained to three, New Zealand could not find an effective solution to Joey Wright’s defensive machinations.

The 36ers’ coach, already wrestling with an untried recipe for success after playing just one game in 16 days and two in 27, threw Brendan Teys and Nathan Sobey — with two huge uncredited blocks on Webster and Mika Vukona — into the fray and it paid handsomely.

Lucas Walker, in his 150th game, was better than his humble figures, Adelaide pulling clear in a second quarter where Randle and Johnson dominated offensively.

Out by 12 at halftime, that blew further to 17 on a Petrie drive and Teys triple.

From there, New Zealand mounted its most direct offensive, its momentum carried by some partial officiating in an 18-3 rally that ensured a tight final period.

Until the heat turned up and with it, so did Johnson and Randle.

ADELAIDE 36ERS 87 (Johnson, Randle 25, Teys 9) d NZ BREAKERS 81 (Ce Jackson 16, Wesley 14, Vukona, Abercrombie 13, Webster 12) at North Shore Events Centre.

Originally published as Adelaide 36ers ‘beat the heat’ and turn up the pressure on NBL champion New Zealand with big road win