NBL Play-offs: SEM Phoenix v Adelaide 36ers news, scores, latest
South East Melbourne Phoenix has surged into the NBL’s final four after a stunning second half comeback powered by import Matt Hurt. Here’s how they set up a date with the Illawarra Hawks.
South East Melbourne Phoenix has come back from the dead to keep its Cinderella season alive.
In a remarkable second half showing that somewhat mirrored its season, where it overturned a 0-5 start to qualify for the play-in tournament in fourth, the Phoenix came back from 21 points behind to mow down at Adelaide 36ers 85-75 in a stunning play-in game comeback at John Cain Arena on Sunday.
During the second period, Phoenix had conceded a 25-2 run, and looked totally out of sorts.
When 36ers guard Kendric Davis launched a three-pointer on the half-time buzzer from behind the centre court logo, the 36ers were up 19.
If there is one trait about this Josh King coached Phoenix, it will never lay down and accept defeat.
The Phoenix came home with a wet sail.
Import Matt Hurt put the Phoenix on his back.
Hurt’s aggression in the paint was too much for the 36ers bigs, including star Montrezl Harrell, to handle.
The 24-year-old Hurt had an efficient 25 points, including 11-18 from the field, and nine rebounds.
Ben Ayre’s 17 points off the bench for Phoenix were crucial.
The guard, a menace off the bench, fittingly put the game beyond doubt with a late three.
The 36ers are rueing the one that got away.
The Sixers could not find a solution to their Melbourne hoodoo, going 0-8 at John Cain Arena this season.
Davis threatened to put the game out of reach of Phoenix with 26 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Montrezl Harrell overcame an ankle injury to post 17 points and 14 rebounds.
But the 36ers faded badly late and once Phoenix took control, it was all one-way traffic.
The Phoenix have advanced to a semi-final series with Illawarra Hawks, a side they have beaten in their past two meetings.
TREZ STRESS
In the course of a huge block on Foxwell, 36ers star Harrell landed awkwardly and rolled his left ankle, forcing him to go straight to the locker room for medical attention.
With Harrell off the floor, Phoenix took advantage, taking their first lead, a lead that swelled to five on the back of an Angus Glover three.
But the 36ers hit back, going on a 6-0 run to lead 16-15 in a low-scoring first quarter.
Harrell returned for the second quarter, sporting a slight limp, but was immediately active on the glass with a tip-in.
The 36ers went on a stunning 19-0 run from late in the first quarter to midway through to second to completely turn the game on its head.
VETERAN EXPLODES
36ers veteran Jason Cadee ignited the Sixers with 10 points through that period, while Harrell was soaring for rebounds like he never had that ankle complaint.
Cadee, who will retire at season’s end, seemed hellbent on extending his career, but it was not to be.
The 36ers dominance continued with a 25-2 run opening up a substantial 20-point lead.
Two Ben Ayre three lifted the Phoenix crowd, cutting the deficit to 14.
36ers shooting guard Dejan Vasiljevic had a day to forget with three points in 29 minutes.
Outside of DJ, the 36ers could do no wrong in the first half, marching into the break with a 45-26 lead after a Davis heave from behind the centre court logo.
The 26 points Phoenix scored in the first half were the lowest by any team in a half this season.
NEVER SAY DIE
The Phoenix were engaged defensively out of the half-time break with Joe Wieskamp’s steal and assist to Angus Glover trimming the deficit to 12.
Davis was a constant threat for the 36ers, coming up with crucial hoops every time Phoenix mounted a fightback, but the home side refused to give in.
Phoenix finished the third quarter on a 10-0 run and incredibly only trailed by six at three quarter time.
The momentum swing was significant with Phoenix exploding in the fourth, with Hurt unguardable.
Star trio fires as 36ers conquer the Kings
A spirited Sydney fightback was ultimately no match for the star-studded Adelaide 36ers who will live to fight another day in the NBL playoffs.
Without captain Xavier Cooks after a much-publicised provisional suspension earlier in the week, the Kings came back from as much as 16 points down to take the lead in the fourth.
That’s when Adelaide’s class came to the fore, holding the Kings to just 10 points in the first nine minutes of the final term to close out a 95-88 victory.
Montrezl Harrell gave the fans at Qudos Bank Arena a send off, waving and blowing kisses to them as the 36ers booked their ticket to Melbourne to take on the Phoenix on Sunday for a spot in the final four.
Kendric Davis starred with 24 points, including eight in the fourth, while his sparring partner Jaylen Adams tried his best to keep the Kings’ season alive, dropping 30 points and 10 assists in the loss.
Adelaide coach Mike Wells said the game summed up their season to date, a rollercoaster that they’re happy to still be riding.
“Our path has been a difficult one. I think that game played out and was a mini version of our whole year,” he said.
“The way we played down the stretch, tons of credit to the defence.
“It wasn’t looking how we wanted it in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter when it was winning time we made a lot of big plays on the defensive end.”
KINGS SHAKE OFF EARLY NERVES
Coming in as underdogs on their home court has been a rarity for the Kings in recent years and you could tell there was a sense of tension in the air early.
Sydney just couldn’t get the ball to drop, going 1-12 from the field in the first six minutes, before nailing five field goals in succession to take a narrow advantage.
Just as it looked like the Kings would hold court ahead of the second term, Kendric Davis hit a three on the buzzer to put the 36ers ahead 23-22.
Kings coach Brian Goorjian praised the fight shown by his team, but ultimately conceded they didn’t have enough to match it with Adelaide.
“This is a really hard one to swallow,” he said.
“We have all these games at home, we’ve got an audience and a support behind us and all we’ve got to hit a couple of base hits and we’re where we want to be.
“It became very apparent coming down the back stretch that we’re just under the bar against the top teams.
“We had a lot of guys playing their arse off, but when the ball got swung or moved, they didn’t have the ability to make a play. So the ball kept coming back to JA in the middle of the floor to do something at the end of the shot clock.”
DJ MAKES KINGS PAY
There was a clear intent from the Kings to double Montrezl Harrell in the first half, but more often than not it backfired.
Dejan Vasilijevic was left wide open multiple times to do what he does best and drain the long ball.
DJ was able to catch fire, hitting five of his eight attempts from long range in the first half as the 36ers raced out to a 51-41 lead at the main break.
“There were timely big baskets by this guy right here (Vasilijevic),” Wells said.
“I want to shout out DJ’s defence. He made some huge threes for us, but there were some huge steals.
“His shift and ability to show a crowd. We did a lot of stretching down the stretch to be up at that level and take guys off the line.
“Those type of plays are winning basketball. What I saw from DJ and a lot of our group was they were ready to make winning plays.”
SPACE CAM TAKES FLIGHT
We’ve seen glimpses of Cam Oliver’s best scattered throughout the season, but as the key big in Sydney’s line-up, he made the third his own.
A few big plays helped to spark a 15-2 run that saw the Kings overcome a 12-point deficit to take a two-point advantage into the final quarter.
Oliver had five rebounds in the term as Sydney owned the boards, an area Adelaide crucified them in during their last meeting.
SEEDING QUALIFIER: WILDCATS TORCH PHOENIX
A fourth-quarter frenzy fueled by Keanu Pinder and NBL MVP Bryce Cotton has powered the Perth Wildcats past the Phoenix 122-105 in the NBL’s seeding qualifier.
Pinder missed just two shots from the field on his way to monster 25-point, 11-rebound double-double, stuffing the stat sheet with three assists, two blocks and a steal in an imposing performance.
Different venue, same result.
South East Melbourne Phoenix coach Josh King has openly struggled with a one-sided foul count when they have travelled to play the Perth Wildcats at RAC Arena this season.
Tuesday’s NBL Seeding Qualifier wasn’t at that venue, due to a schedule conflict with Kylie Minogue. But the Phoenix were again clumsy in that area in a 122-105 loss against the Wildcats.
The Phoenix gave Perth an incredible 42 foul shot attempts at Perth HPC, the home side making 39 of them.
In fairness, 27 of the Phoenix score came from the line too, in a bizarre contest.
The win sends the Wildcats to a Semi-Final series against Melbourne United after the FIBA break.
The Phoenix will host the Play-In Game on Sunday, against either the Sydney Kings or Adelaide 36ers.
MVP PLAYS 2IC
The box scores will show a decent night out for recently crowned five-time NBL MVP Bryce Cotton.
He nailed 27 points, including three from long range, plus had six rebounds and four assists.
But he was pretty well held for most of the night by Owen Foxwell. Cotton scored seven points in the final quarter.
Keanu Pinder is the one who did the damage, continuing a rich run of form, with 35 points and 11 boards.
He added 16 of those points in the third quarter, when the Phoenix threatened to pull away.
Kristian Doolittle recorded another double double (20 points, 11 rebounds) despite being restricted to court time due to being in early foul trouble.
PLENTY OF SCORERS
In four previous games against Perth, the Phoenix had struggled to find regular scorers.
Only Nathan Sobey, in round 7 and Matt Hurt, in round 9, made it to 20 points (20 and 27 points respectively).
On Tuesday night, they had three.
Angus Glover, playing his 150th NBL game, was crucial early and finished with 25 points.
Matt Hurt added 24 and Sobey 22.
Angus Glover can’t miss 🔥
— NBL (@NBL) February 11, 2025
He has 15 points in the first quarter 😳
Watch live on ESPN 📺 pic.twitter.com/mvJyjvk1Dg
CLEAN UP YOUR DEFENCE
It was a high scoring first after an extraordinary second term.
Extraordinary because of the foul count and points scored from the free throw line.
The Phoenix led 67-62 at the main break. But they fouled 12 times in the second term, sending Perth to the line for 19 extra shots. They made 17 of them; 10 from the hand of Bryce Cotton.
Not that the Wildcats were much better. They fouled eight times, sending giving Phoenix players 13 free throws for the quarter. They made 10 of them.
So, 20 fouls, 27 free throws in one very long quarter.
QUARTER OF TWO HALVES
Perth led by 16 points early in the first term, but held just a one point advantage at the first break.
Early on, it looked like it was going to be tough night for the Phoenix. They lost their coach’s challenge in less than 20 seconds of the game starting – Josh King questioning an out of bounds call.
Keanu Pinder and the Perth Wildcats are cooking ♨ï¸
— NBL (@NBL) February 11, 2025
Watch live on ESPN 📺 pic.twitter.com/VJ2TOQCvuN
Perth burst out of the gates, leading 20-4 after about four minutes, with Pinder dropping 12 of those points.
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Even his missed dunk popped into the air and fell down for two points.
Glover got the ball rolling for the Phoenix.
He led all scorers with 15 points at the end of the first term.
Originally published as NBL Play-offs: SEM Phoenix v Adelaide 36ers news, scores, latest
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