Adel fires and Hawks overrun gritty 36ers

NBA signing Deng Adel had his best game in the NBL as the Illawarra Hawks fought back from an early double-digit deficit to overrun Josh Giddey and the Adelaide 36ers 98-89 in the NBL Cup on Thursday night.

Adel has had his struggles in adjusting to the NBL including setting a new record going 0/15 against the Cairns Taipans and finding his role with the Hawks but he was a difference-maker in the second half.

He played a key role in their match-winning run at the start of the final quarter where the Hawks scored the opening nine points after the scores were tied at three-quarter-time to finish with 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Hawks import Tyler Harvey was again impressive with his shooting with 16 of his game-high 24 points coming in the first half while drilling 6/11 from downtown.

Illawarra went 15/31 as a team from deep and it was the group that played out the entire fourth quarter that were the best contributors. Justin Simon was everywhere and his energy and hustle instrumental in the win even if the stats only show he had 13 points and nine rebounds.

Cam Bairstow was important with 14 points and seven rebounds with Justinian Jessup contributing 12 points.

The Hawks took six of the seven available points to move up the table after starting the night in the bottom two on the back of losing five or their last seven games this season having started it 4-0.

Hawks coach Brian Goorjian said his side was desperate for a win after several tough games.

"This is getting nasty and tough - we have been getting pounded a bit and lost some close ones so tonight was desperation," Goorjian said.

"We were desperate and I coached desperate. I was tighter with my rotations and we made a few adjustments."

Goorjian said Adel’s success came from playing aggressive and attacking the basket.

"We did talk and talked about getting on the rim, getting in the foul line and getting on the glass," Goorjian said.

"If he does those things there won’t be that pressure on his shot and tonight his first possession he got that ball in the corner, pulled through and got on over the front of the rim. 

"The next possession he got the rebound and got to the foul line. That loosened him up. I’m really happy for him."

With Boomers coach Brian Goorjian coaching the Hawks, Giddey showed that while he is still a teenager, he is certainly capable of playing for the national team with 14 points, six rebounds and nine assists.

The 36ers needed people to stand up in the absence of the injured Isaac Humphries and it was import small forward Tony Crocker who top-scored with 23 points in his best NBL performance.

Daniel Johnson had another 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists with Jack McVeigh delivering 16 points and seven boards.

Sixers coach Connor Henry said the signs were good for much of the game but they paid for a slow start to the last quarter.

"There is no making excuses, we lose our starting centre [Isaac Humphries] so we have to play a certain way and I felt we addressed that the last couple of days," Henry said.

"We put in a good effort out there but offensively we just didn’t get it done."

Giddey said the Sixers knew they had to find a way to win.

"We had guys step up tonight, Jack McVeigh was awesome at the four spot tonight, he gave us some big plays on both ends," Giddey said.

"We were good for 85 to 90 per cent of this match but there was that early period in the last quarter where we let them break the game open a bit. If we can clean up on the defensive end then we will be good."

The two clubs took a quarter each from the first half with Adelaide clinging to a 48-46 edge at half time but their defence were nervously watching for Harvey who had 16 points and was poised to continue his hot shooting.

But it was Giddey who proved the surprise shooter in the third term as he nailed two long balls and threw down a two-handed dunk to show he was ready to take up some of the points lost by Isaac Humphries' injury absence.

The Hawks took the NBL Cup point for the quarter but the game was tied at 72-72 going into the last quarter after Jack McVeigh nailed a long two on the buzzer.

Bairstow, Adel and Simon burned at the start of the fourth as the Hawks built a seven-point lead and they were never caught again.

Goorjian was so happy with the line-up of Bairstow, Adel, Simon, Harvey and Jessup that they played the whole final quarter.

The 36ers are back in action at the NBL Cup on Saturday against the Cairns Taipans while the Hawks play the Perth Wildcats on Sunday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 8
NBL CUP WEEK 3

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 98 (Harvey 24, Adel 19, Bairstow 14) 

ADELAIDE 36ERS 89 (Crocker 23, Johnson 17, McVeigh 16)

POINTS AWARDED – Illawarra Hawks 6, Adelaide 36ers 1

BOX SCORE