Sixers beat Kings, climb ladder

Sunday, February 4, 2024

Former Sydney Kings DJ Vasiljevic and Isaac Humphries starred against their old side.

The stunning late season rejuvenation of the Adelaide 36ers under favourite son Scott Ninnis has them within touching distance of the NBL top six after beating the Sydney Kings 85-78.

A 31-19 fourth quarter saw the 36ers (11-14), outscored in each of the first three terms, prevail in front of another sold out Adelaide Entertainment Centre crowd on Friday night and leapfrog New Zealand and Cairns into seventh spot on the ladder.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Now that's how you finish ?<a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Adelaide36ers</a> take the dub ? <a href="https://t.co/KmPt6qsnlS">pic.twitter.com/KmPt6qsnlS</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1753365340632056268?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It was a rematch from just three weeks ago when the Sixers stunned the Kings with a dominant performance, but Sydney was fighting to hold on to their own top six position with the defending champions putting in a decidedly better performance.

The Kings also welcomed back DJ Hogg (four points, three blocks, two steals) and Jaylin Galloway (eight points, four rebounds) from shoulder injuries, and they did plenty right, but at the end of the night just couldn't make their shots.

Sydney collected 19 offensive rebounds for the night but could only convert into 12 second chance points on the back of shooting just 34 per cent from the field and 8-of-35 from the three-point line.

Adelaide's improved defence deserves a lot of credit for that and is a big reason why they made it six wins in the past seven matches with former Kings Isaac Humphries (11 rebounds, four blocks) and DJ Vasiljevic, who re-signed for a further three years during the week, top-scoring with 20 points each.

Trey Kell III added another 15 points and seven assists for teh Sixers with Jason Cadee contributing 12 points.

Sunday Dech was important too not only with seven points but with his defensive performance on former MVP Jaylen Adams.

The Kings point guard still had 21 points but shot just 6-of-21 from the field while also having five assists.

The two-time defending champions slipped to a 12-14 record with the loss in sixth position with only two games to go at home to Illawarra and away to South East Melbourne.

Denzel Valentine also scored 12 points to go with nine rebounds, five assists and four steals, but also struggled shooting with 2-of-10 from beyond the arc.

The Kings led just 18-17 despite racking up seven offensive rebounds by quarter-time with Adams' inside-outside combination with Jonah Bolden (nine points, six rebounds) gave Adelaide plenty to ponder in the second term as Sydney moved five points clear.

Kell's triple snapped Sydney's 7-0 run but the visitors went into the sheds at half-time with a 41-37 lead and the momentum after a slick Adams-to-Kouat Noi pick-and-roll in the dying seconds.

The Sixers emphatically ripped back the impetus - and the lead - by starting the third period with a 9-0 burst amid an overall 16-2 spree.

The Kings called a timeout and responded in even more unequivocal fashion, scoring 16 of the last 17 points of the stanza to lead 59-54 on import Valentine's tough finish on the three quarter-time bell.

The Sixers started the fourth term with another 12-3 flourish to move ahead again.

A contentious unsportsmanlike foul on Dech, reaching around to pick Adams' pocket, threatened to derail the home side but Humphries and Vasiljevic continued to attack relentlessly down the stretch.

HUNGRY JACKS NBL ROUND 18

ADELAIDE 36ERS 85 (Humphries 20, Vasiljevic 20, Kell 15)

SYDNEY KINGS 78 (Adams 21, Valentine 12, Hunter 10)

BOX SCORE