DJ, Montrezl ensure Sixers keep rolling

DJ Vasiljevic lit it up for 18 points in the first half as the Adelaide 36ers kept their form rolling with an 89-79 win with former MVP's Jaylen Adams and Xavier Cooks under the weather for the Sydney Kings.

It was another monster crowd of 9466 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre and they left happy with Vasiljevic ending with 26 points and five three-pointers against the team he starred in two championships with.

Cooks came into the game unwell and Adams hurt his back in the first half and didn’t reappear in the second with Adelaide opening up a 16-point lead in the third quarter before then having to hold out a Sydney team who got back within one.

Cam Oliver (16 points) led that Sydney fight back but Adelaide had all the answers.

Ultimately it was a three ball from Kendric Davis (19 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals) with 2:30 to go and then two big finishes from Montrezl Harrell (18 points, 14 rebounds) sealed the deal.

It's a third straight win for the 36ers to improve them to 3-2 on the season with Isaac Humphries adding 14 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.

"Our defence allowed us to stay afloat when all of a sudden we were really out of sync offensively," 36ers coach Mike Wells said.

"Then once we got a bit of rhythm back offensively, we could get our hands around the lead again."

The Kings slip to 3-2 on the season with the loss with Cooks limited to 20 minutes for eight points, three rebounds and three assists while Adams could only play 13 minutes for four points.

Makuach Maluach did provide a spark with 10 points and six rebounds while powerhouse rookie Keli Leaupepe added another 10 points and 10 boards.

"I thought our job on DJ was horrendous and both their bigs had their way," Kings coach Brian Goorjian said.

"At the offensive end, the ball didn't move - it stuck. We didn't get the ball from side to side and really showed no signs of a step forward."

Sydney started the contest on fire with the first eight points in less than two minutes including triples to Keli Leaupepe and Jaylen Adams, but the Sixers soon steadied with former Kings championship hero DJ Vasiljevic catching fire.

He ended up scoring 12 points in the first quarter to help Adelaide to a 26-22 lead and the Sixers kept on rolling in the second period as they simply outhustled the Kings throughout the rest of the half.

Vasiljevic ended up with 18 points with four threes for the half and Adelaide collected 30 rebounds to 21 to overcome the eight turnovers to go into the half-time break leading 49-37 with Sydney shooting just 6/21 inside the arc.

Adelaide's lead grew to 16 midway through the third quarter after a three-point play from Vasiljevic, but the Kings stormed back and it was all without their superstar point guard Adams.

Cam Oliver scored nine points in the last five minutes of the third quarter before Makuach Maluach hit the first five of the fourth period and suddenly Sydney were back within a point.

Adelaide answered with the next six points and from there stayed on top on the way to the 10-point win to the delight of their huge home crowd.

Both teams play again in Round 4 on Sunday with the Kings up first at home to the Cairns Taipans while the Sixers are on the road to Melbourne United in Chris Goulding's 450th NBL game.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2024/25

ADELAIDE 36ERS 89 (Vasiljevic 26, Davis 19, Harrell 18)

SYDNEY KINGS 79 (Oliver 16, Robertson 10, Leaupepe 10, Maluach 10)

BOX SCORE