NBL 2021-22: Five players investigated after wild brawl erupts
The NBL is investigating five players who were involved in a wild brawl that erupted during the Sydney Kings’ win over the Perth Wildcats.
The NBL is investigating the conduct of five players involved in an ugly melee during the Sydney Kings’ shock 96-81 win over the Perth Wildcats on Sunday afternoon.
A wild brawl erupted after towering Wildcat Matt Hodgson struck Sydney’s Dejan Vasiljevic in the head twice during the third quarter.
Hodgson was ejected from the contest and on Monday the NBL confirmed he had been cited for “striking twice and engage in melee/brawl”.
Kings big men Xavier Cooks and Jarell Martin are being reviewed for “unduly rough play and engage in melee/brawl”. Cooks was also handed an unsportsmanlike foul on the court.
For their roles in the scuffle, Sydney’s Jaylen Adams and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk have been pinged for “engage in melee/brawl”.
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Each player has 24 hours to make submissions to the Game Review Panel, which is expected to hand down its findings later in the week.
Hodgson looks set to come under the most scrutiny and could find himself suspended.
The 30-year-old’s brain explosion attracted the ire of both coaches post-game.
“That’s not a basketball play, to take a swipe at someone’s face twice,” Kings coach Chase Buford said.
“I don’t have a lot of respect for that play.”
Hodgson’s coach Scott Morrison admitted the big man went too far in the heat of the moment.
“You want your guys to be competitive … but at the same time, you’ve got to keep your head and stay locked in,” Morrison said.
“Toughness isn’t just going out there and swinging your elbows and pushing people, toughness is locking into the game plan.
“Maybe we need to make sure everyone knows the definition of toughness as it relates to basketball.”
TENSIONS BOIL OVER AS KINGS TAME WILDCATS
The Sydney Kings have made an almighty statement with their 96-81 upset of the ladder-leading Perth Wildcats, whose frustrations boiled over and ignited one of the most intense brawls of the NBL season on Sunday afternoon.
Having claimed bragging rights over their bitter rivals, the Kings are daring to dream of breaking into the top four, now that their injury crisis and dismal stretch of form look to be in the past.
The Wildcats aren’t accustomed to having their regicide attempts thwarted — they’d beaten the Kings in all of their last five games at Qudos Bank Arena and had only lost one of the sides’ last 11 meetings.
So when they were kept on the back foot for the whole first half, the visitors struggled to mask their rage.
Tensions came to a head in the third quarter, when big man Matt Hodgson snapped at Kings guard Dejan Vasiljevic, striking him twice in the face to spark a melee that Kings coach Chase Buford desperately tried to break up.
The scuffle spilt off the court, leaving Hodgson ejected from the contest.
Xavier Cooks’ unhappy run with the match officials continued – the Kings star can count himself unlucky for fouled in the aftermath, despite being one of many caught up in the brouhaha. In the fourth quarter, the MVP hopeful fouled out of the contest.
Sydney big man Jarell Martin set the tone by icing the first three-pointer of the game barely 20 seconds from the tip-off.
The Kings were given free reign by the Wildcats, who applied shockingly little defensive pressure in the first half, particularly beyond the arc.
Sydney has copped flak for its inability to score this season, but had 30 points by quarter time and shot at 60 per cent from deep in the first half.
American imports Jaylen Adams and Martin led the charge.
Adams exploded early, making good on a promise earlier this month that his best was yet to come.
He finished with a game-high 30 points, seven rebounds, nine assists, two blocks and two steals and was particularly influential when the contest was in the balance late.
“I think I started well,” Adams said.
“It was one of my better (games).”
Martin (22 points), meanwhile, shot sharply from deep (three from four) and helped the Kings find their feet with a blockbuster dunk in the final period.
Wani Swaka Lo Buluk, playing against his old side for the first time, led the mission to keep superstar Wildcat Bryce Cotton quiet.
But despite the Kings’ early dominance, the scuffle energised the visitors, who went on a 10-0 run and dominated the opening stages of the final term.
Sydneysiders started to worry that their team’s habit of fading fast was coming back to bite.
But the best efforts of superstar Wildcats Vic Law and Bryce Cotton weren’t enough to deter Adams and the Kings, who held on for a win that will be talked about for seasons to come.
“We got outplayed, we got outcoached, we got outworked. We were lucky to even be thinking about a comeback in the fourth quarter,” said Morrison.
“I’ve got to give credit to Sydney, they beat us fair and square.”
Kings of the road?
Sydney’s season is now alive and kicking but things may be about to get harder for Buford and co.
The Kings have played more games at home so far this season than any other NBL side (eight) for a 5-3 record.
By contrast, they’ve been on the road for only three games, all of which they’ve lost.
The NBL has yet to announce its draw beyond round 11, but when it drops, the Kings should prepare for a road trip in their not-too-distant future. A plan for winning away from home will need to be firmly atop their packing list.
ADELAIDE 36ERS BRING MELBOURNE UNITED’S STREAK TO A HALT
The Adelaide 36ers have halted Melbourne United’s quest for nine wins in a row in dramatic fashion, CJ Bruton’s men stunning the ladder leaders with a five-point overtime win on Sunday.
Dusty Hannahs didn’t see much court time during regulation, but the Sixers’ import exploded into action late to send the game into overtime with a clutch three-pointer with 13 seconds left on the clock.
Hannahs then poured in eight points in a frantic overtime period, with Kai Sotto nailing a jump shot to seal a memorable 88-83 win at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
The Sixers, who had lost their past three matches, led by 10 points early in the final term, but couldn’t hold off a late surge by the reigning champions.
United led 74-70 with less than 30 seconds on the clock before Hannahs’ heroics stole the show, the import finishing with 19 points on 7-from-12 shooting.
“I’ve watched Dusty continue to put the ball in the basket at different times, but clearly he needs some time to find his groove,” Bruton said.
“There’s certain things that we’ve been trying to work through to get him opportunities to go do his thing.
“We put the ball in his hands and you all got to see what he’s capable of.”
Dee-fence
United ground out a 19-17 lead at the first change, but the 36ers went on a 10-0 run and their work at the defensive end was a noticeable improvement on recent showings.
United coach Dean Vickerman looked on in frustration as his side shot 1-from-11 from three-point range in the first half and notched just 11 points in the second quarter to trail 38-30 at the main break.
Import Todd Withers, who made a season-low three points in his last start, led all scorers with 12 points in the first half and had an NBL career-high 17 when he fouled out with two minutes left in regulation.
Road weary?
Sunday’s clash was United’s seventh away game in a row, which may have been a factor in some uncharacteristic performances.
Chris Goulding, the league’s leading three-point shooter, had made just one free throw in the first three quarters. He made another three free throws, but finished 0-from-14 from the floor and didn’t make a three-pointer from nine attempts.
United finished with just four three-pointers from 30 attempts.
Star recruit Matthew Dellavedova was also quiet on offence, with five points on 1-from-10 shooting.
Jo Lual-Acuil wasn’t having the same issues and slammed home a pair of dunks as the visitors went on a 10-0 run to set up the dramatic final period. Lual-Acuil finished with a game-high 23 points on 9-from-12 shooting.
“We’re disappointed,” Vickerman said.
“We’ve been on a long road stretch … there was some tired decision-making and in the first half our defence wasn’t quite at the level we needed it to be.”
Up next, the Sixers host the Brisbane Bullets on Thursday night, while United will play their first home game since December 19 when they take on the JackJumpers on Sunday.
PHOENIX EXACTS REVENGE TO HEAP PRESSURE ON BULLETS
If a week can be a long time in politics, it can be a world away in the NBL.
Two weeks ago, South East Melbourne Phoenix was embarrassed by the Brisbane Bullets, who enjoyed a 31-6 first quarter blitz on the way to a 100-84 win over the visitors, who had not played for 28 days due to Covid.
But the Mitch Creek-inspired Phoenix exacted sweet revenge at Nissan Arena on Saturday night with an 88-73 victory over the Bullets (4-6), who stumbled to their third-straight loss with their season on the brink of going into freefall.
The Phoenix claimed its third-straight win to move to a 6-2 record, with Creek powering to 22 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals while also playing a shutdown defensive role in the second half when the Bullets showed some very brief signs of life.
In stark contrast to the red-hot Creek, Nathan Sobey (nine points) and Robert Franks (two points, two rebounds) were ice cold for Brisbane. They combined for just four points in the first half, with Franks not scoring until the third quarter when he also grabbed his first rebound.
Brisbane went on an 11-0 run in the third term to cut the margin to four points at three-quarter time but South East Melbourne steadied with Phoenix centre Brandon Ashley chiming in with some big plays and Brisbane scoring just six points in the last term.
The intent from the Phoenix was palpable as they took a 50-39 lead into halftime.
Creek had 13 points at the first change and 20 by the main break from eight of nine shooting from the field as he toyed with the Brisbane defence while captain Kyle Adnam was a spark off the bench with 10 points in the first half.
Bullets head coach James Duncan urged his players to “get up and in’’ on defence but they were simply unable to stop the lime green juggernaut.
Mitch freak
Mitch Creek dominated the first half with 20 points from eight of nine shooting along with three rebounds, a steal and an assist. He came to play. Brisbane’s “Big Three” of Lamar Patterson, Nathan Sobey and Robert Franks combined for 17 points between them with Patterson contributing 13 of those (and 26 for the match). Sobey had two free throws and one field goal from one attempt while Franks had a doughnut in the points column after four unsuccessful attempts. Good things happen when Sobey top scores for Brisbane but he was kept very, very quiet. Franks was non-existent.
Bullets draw short straw
The NBL draw has spent more time in the air than an orange at a juggling convention due to Covid so the fixture will not be overly fair just yet. But the luck of the draw has not been kind to Brisbane. In the Bullets’ 10 outings this season they have played a top four team six times – the most of any side in the NBL. South East Melbourne has played bottom six teams in seven of its eight matches. The one top four showdown was against an understrength Melbourne United.
Turnover troubles
Turnovers continue to kill the Bullets. In their five losses before Saturday night, they had 15 or more turnovers and in their four wins, they coughed the ball up less than 15 times. They had 12 by the last change and 15 for the match. Brisbane did turn around a horror shooting night against Melbourne United on Australia Day when it hit just three of 25 three-point attempts. Against the Phoenix, the Bullets hit eight of 22.
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