JackJumpers too good for 36ers

The Tasmania JackJumpers are getting back to their trademark style of play and had things largely on their terms in Saturday night's 82-72 road win against the Adelaide 36ers. 

The JackJumpers (6-4) absorbed a late Sixers rally after smothering the home side defensively for the first three quarters, silencing the sold-out crowd of 9440 at Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

The JackJumpers have now strung together consecutive victories after a run of three losses in four games to improve to a 6-4 record on the season while celebrating the 300th NBL game of captain Clint Steindl in the process.

The defensive minded performance was impressive enough from the JackJumpers but the return of gun big man Will Magnay for his first appearance of the season was encouraging too. He had three points and an assist, but more importantly got through 12 minutes unscathed.

Explosive point guard Jordon Crawford (17 points) and former 36er Jack McVeigh (14) led the Tasmania charge, while the multi-skilled Milton Doyle (13 points, eight assists, four steals) was influential at both ends as the hosts were restricted to 15, 16 and 16 in the opening three terms.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Milton Doyle had his defender lost with the &quot;double inside-outside&quot; dribble ?<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/XNlpFopPpX">pic.twitter.com/XNlpFopPpX</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1723276240285519977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 11, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Recent Adelaide signing DJ Vasiljevic (16 points) was unsighted for three quarters before exploding late for the seventh-ranked Sixers (3-7), who missed the scoring punch of in-form American Trey Kell III, who was a late withdrawal with a calf injury.

"We turned the ball over early, that hurt us and put us in a bad spot," 36ers coach CJ Bruton said.

"We've had our problems valuing the ball and getting good shots."

Doyle started the evening with two steals inside the first minute, which ended in back-to-back breakaway dunks from McVeigh and Marcus Lee (12 points, eight rebounds).

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Back-to-back <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JackJumpers</a> slams to open the game in Adelaide ?<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/PrLmACyMsV">pic.twitter.com/PrLmACyMsV</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1723267516577747293?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 11, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Adelaide responded through skipper Mitch McCarron's baseline slam, which was followed by Jacob Wiley's athletic jam over Lee, but the Sixers continued to cough up possession, racking up six first-quarter turnovers.

Back-up 36ers power forward Tohi Smith-Milner earned an unsportsmanlike foul for his crude shirtfront on JackJumpers centre Magnay - making his return from a fractured foot - which sparked an Adelaide mini-revival.

Next Star Trentyn Flowers, hustling forward Alex Starling and enforcer Smith-Milner masterminded a bench-inspired 9-0 burst either side of quarter-time to briefly give the Sixers the lead.

JackJumpers coach Scott Roth quickly called a timeout and the visitors reset successfully.

Crawford, scoreless in the opening stanza, pocketed eight second-quarter points in less than three minutes, spearheading an 8-1 close to the half, at the end of which Tasmania held sway 39-31.

Adelaide's wasteful ways continued when Vasiljevic threw away their 11th turnover with the first possession of the third period.

After the JackJumpers' buffer ballooned to 66-47 on Crawford's trey to start the fourth, Vasiljevic inspired a 16-4 spree to close the gap to seven points before Doyle and Anthony Drmic terminated the comeback.

"It was a classic JackJumpers game, a grinding game," Roth said.

"We stepped up and played well across the board."