The DJ Vasiljevic-inspired Adelaide 36ers saw off a furious second-half fightback by the Sydney Kings on Friday night to score an entertaining 10-point victory and make it three wins in a row.
Playing in an at-times heated contest against his old side, Vasiljevic shot a game-high 26 points to stretch the Sixers’ winning run at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre to seven games.
The Kings started brightly but were hampered by injuries, with Jaylen Adams unable to take part in the second half and Xavier Cooks hampered throughout.
Despite those setbacks, Sydney was still well in the contest late until Montrezl Harrell iced the game in his trademark style, the fan favourite taking flight to stuff home an athletic two-handed jam with a minute left on the clock.
Harrell was quiet early but instrumental down the stretch, finishing with 18 points and 14 rebounds, with Kendric Davis and Isaac Humphries also 파워볼 double-digit scorers.
Sydney coach Brian Goorjian had to reach deep into his bench, but was unable to find a winning combination, import Cam Oliver with a team-high 16 points.
Adelaide ranked near the top of the league in most offensive statistics after four games, but was last in defensive rating heading into the clash with the high-scoring Kings, so a shootout was always on the cards and that’s exactly how proceedings kicked off.
Most of the action was from long range in the opening minutes, with the Sixers the league’s top-ranked three-point percentage shooting team, with both teams averaging just over 11 triples made per match.