Randall's 36ers Answer Challenge, Knock Off Kings

Forget all the pre-game talk, Friday night basketball at Qudos Bank Arena lived up to the hype with the Adelaide 36ers catching fire early and then finishing the better to knock off the defending champion Sydney Kings 92-88.

There are great expectations on Adelaide coming into this season and a lot of that is coming from their own mouths which hasn’t been unnoticed by the reigning champion Kings and especially their outspoken owner Paul Smith.

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The 36ers opened up with the first nine points of the game and then led 11-2 with superstar imports Craig Randall, Antonius Cleveland and Robert Franks all connecting on three balls.

However, Sydney was determined not to lose a second straight home game despite having won a record 15 in-a-row on the road, and were up six just before three quarter-time.

Sydney again led by five during the fourth quarter and by three with five minutes to play, but Adelaide weren’t to be denied. Daniel Johnson kept them in touch and ultimately yet another triple from Randall sealed the deal on the four -point victory.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Randall with the BIG triple down the stretch to extend Adelaide&#39;s lead to 4<br><br>Catch the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> action live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel <a href="https://t.co/lOiQ3OnRZU">pic.twitter.com/lOiQ3OnRZU</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1583401272287186944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Adelaide's three-point shooting was ultimately the difference as they knocked down 14/35 opposed to Sydney's 6/28.

Randall drained 6/11 of those for the Sixers on his way to 24 points, six rebounds and five assists with seven-time club MVP Johnson adding 17 points and eight boards.

Captain Mitch McCarron also had 15 points and five rebounds with Cleveland adding 15 points and seven rebounds, and Franks 13 points and five boards.

Sixers coach CJ Bruton was delighted with the way his team executed and found a way to get the job done against strong opposition.

"I liked the way that we controlled the tempo for that game," Bruton said.

"The guys did a good job of trying to stick to the scout, and Sydney is Sydney playing at home, and they are a talented team and aren’t in first place for any other reason than they are great at what they do. 

"They showed that with how they played, but I thought for how our guys controlled the tempo and how (Mitch McCarron) constructed our team to execute and finish at the end of the game to get the win was definitely a key."

It's consecutive home losses for the Kings with Derrick Walton Jr top-scoring with 23 points and six assists. 

DJ Vasiljevic also had 15 points, Justin Simon 12 points, six rebounds and three steals, Kouat Noi 12 points and five boards, and Xavier Cooks nine points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

Kings coach Chase Buford couldn’t fault much of what his team did considering they took nine extra field goals, three extra offensive rebounds and just seven turnovers for the game.

"It was a heck of a game with two good teams going at it with elite shot making especially down the stretch," Buford said.

"It was a fun game to be part of and credit to CJ and that crew for finding a way to get it done the stretch. It's one for us to learn from and we shot ourselves in the foot in a number of areas especially down the stretch there, but it was a pretty good fightback from us. 

"I actually think we played really well and dominated the game in a lot of areas, and couldn’t make a shot. They did and credit to them, and we'll move on to the next."

Adelaide wasted no time quietening Qudos Bank Arena starting with a triple from Antonius Cleveland. Robert Franks then scored inside and Craig Randall dropped a three ball and the imports all contributed to the 8-0 start.

After Xavier Cooks got Sydney on the board, Franks connected from downtown and Adelaide were up 11-2 in a stunning opening.

The Kings did steady into the game from there but the Sixers kept firing and led 25-20 by quarter-time.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Craig Randall has helped the <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Adelaide36ers</a> to a hottt start ??<br><br>This one&#39;s gonna get spicy. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> action live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel ?? <a href="https://t.co/IVS5Mz7N8s">pic.twitter.com/IVS5Mz7N8s</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1583378301376434178?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Randall hit another from deep to open the second quarter for Adelaide and soon on the efforts of Cleveland with his fast hands and ability to get out and run, they were out to a 10-point edge after his breakaway dunk.

Randall drained his fourth triple of the half just before the break to put the Sixers up 50-42 with him not only scoring 16 points, but having five rebounds and four assists on 4/5 long-range shooting.

The 36ers also had 11 second chance points to four so not only were shooting well but winning the possession game too.

The Kings came out and turned the tide to open the second half with back-to-back three-pointers from Derrick Walton Jr and DJ Vasiljevic. It soon became a 14-2 opening to the third quarter with Sydney assuming the lead for the first time.

Adelaide responded with threes through Randall, Franks and Mitch McCarron, but the Kings pushed out to a six-point edge following triples from Walton and Shaun Bruce, and an and-one from Kouat Noi.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Derrick dishing dimes is an absolute vibe ?<br><br>So nice he had to go to Soares twice ?<br><br>Catch the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> action live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel <a href="https://t.co/8op9PF9GK7">pic.twitter.com/8op9PF9GK7</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1583393183794270210?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

However, the 36ers stayed in touch with a buzzer-beating three from McCarron to keep the margin at three and Franks tied scores up early in the fourth with his own three-point bomb.

A couple of buckets from Vasiljevic pushed the Kings ahead again, but a fired up Daniel Johnson brought Adelaide back level. Simon's three-point play put Sydney back in front but Adelaide kept responding and then Randall drained yet another three ball to put the visitors up four.

Walton scored to keep the Kings within two with a minute and-a-half to go, but then a layup missed by Vasiljevic thanks to the pressure from McCarron was critical. Cleveland went up the other end to drain one free-throw.

Sydney still had a chance down three but Walton missed two good looks at the three, Tim Soares missed a bunny inside and Adelaide finally grabbed the rebound, McCarron made his free-throws and the Sixers scored the statement win.

It's the only game of Round 4 for the 36ers but the Kings now return to Melbourne to take on United on Sunday on the back of beating them by 20 points at John Cain Arena a fortnight ago.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 4

SYDNEY KINGS 88 (Walton Jr 23, Vasiljevic 15, Simon 12)

ADELAIDE 36ERS 92 (Randall 24, Johnson 17, McCarron 15, Cleveland 15) 

BOX SCORE