Adelaide 36ers star Bryce Cotton has delivered the ultimate blow, nailing a match-winning three to lift his side to a two-point thriller win in overtime against New Zealand Breakers.
With 9.7 seconds left on the clock, the five-time MVP ran the ball down the court and pulled up from deep to fire over Breakers big Sam Mennenga to clinch his side an epic victory away from home at Spark Arena on Friday.
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The Breakers, who earlier came from 10 points down to send the game to overtime, were left with a second to inbound and score but fell short, leading to the 110-112 result.
After nine points in the opening half, Cotton fired home to finish with a game-high 33 points, including nine points in added time.
The three-time NBL champion also had nine assists, five rebounds and knocked down five triples, including two in the final term.
Sixers guard Flynn Cameron was also influential late with two threes in overtime to finish with 17 points.
The win for the 36ers snaps a two-game losing run and strengthens their position on top of the ladder with a 20-6 record ahead of the 18-8 South East Melbourne Phoenix.
The Breakers had the game all but sealed until a costly five-second violation from Next Star Karim Lopez on the inbound resulted in Sixers getting the ball back to clinch the win.
The Sixers are now in the box seat to finish in the top two for the first time since 2017-18.
The Breakers led by as many as eight in the third quarter before the 36ers fired back to lead by 10 with three minutes remaining in a tight affair.
Lopez had a career-high 21 points and also registered 11 rebounds and two assists but had ice on his knee post game with Mennenga and Max Darling also suffering injuries in a costly blow.
BREAKERS SUFFER INJURIES
Despite playing in overtime, top 10 NBA Draft prospect Lopez had ice on his knee post-game after Sixer Nick Rakocevic fell on it earlier in the second term.
Mennenga also suffered a wrist injury in the fourth quarter which coach Petteri Koponen said “might be pretty bad” even though he powered through it to finish the game.
Darling also hurt his left knee in another bitter blow for the Breakers who are chasing a top six spot.
BREAKERS SEND GAME TO OVERTIME
Just when the game looked over when new 36ers recruit John Jenkins nailed a three to put his side up by seven points with 80 seconds remaining, the Breakers fire late to send the game to overtime.
The Breakers went on a 7-0 run after Jenkins’ big bucket with speedy point guard Jackson Parker Jackson-Cartwright (21 points and 10 assists) starring.
The Breakers captain nailed a three and long two-pointer to lift the Breakers with big Mennenga (20 points and 12 rebounds) making a dunk to make it 93-93 for overtime.
Cotton had a chance late to win it but missed a contested lay up, which came after forward Zylan Cheatham let an easier opportunity go down in the paint with 25 seconds left.
RECRUIT STARS
New Sixers signing John Jenkins had a superb outing in just his second game for the club.
The NBA 171 gamer registered 24 points, shooting 9/15 from the field to get Sixers fans excited about the American guard.
Jenkins fired a game-high six threes including two in the final term.
It was a superb performance for the 34-year-old in a new league after having an eight-point game from 14 minutes on debut at the HoopsFest.
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BROCKINGTON FIRES
After just two points in the opening half, Breakers guard Izaiah Brockington exploded in the third term with 11 points in two and a half minutes.
Brockington’s electric shooting lifted the Breakers to a seven-point lead midway through the third.
The 26-year-old finished with 21 points, four rebounds and three assists in a top performance.
DARLING IMPACT
Breakers forward Max Darling stepped up for his most influential outing of the campaign.
Coming off the bench, the 25-year-old shot a perfect 3/3 from beyond the arc in an electric six-minute opening half.
He then nailed a fourth three in the third quarter to continue his clean run.
Darling finished with a season-high 12 points, exceeding his previous best of six.
But in a devastating blow, the sharp shooter hobbled off in the hands of trainers with a left leg injury with six minutes remaining in the encounter.
New Zealand Breakers 110 (Lopez 21, Brockington 21, Jackson-Cartwright 21)
Adelaide 36ers 112 (Cotton 33, Jenkins 24, Cameron 17)
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