The DJ Vasiljevic-inspired Adelaide 36ers saw off a furious second-half fightback by the Sydney Kings on Friday night to score an entertaining 10-point victory and make it three wins in a row.
Playing in an at-times heated contest against his old side, Vasiljevic shot a game-high 26 points to stretch the Sixers’ winning run at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre to seven games.
The Kings started brightly but were hampered by injuries, with Jaylen Adams unable to take part in the second half and Xavier Cooks hampered throughout.
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Despite those setbacks, Sydney was still well in the contest late until Montrezl Harrell iced the game in his trademark style, the fan favourite taking flight to stuff home an athletic two-handed jam with a minute left on the clock.
Harrell was quiet early but instrumental down the stretch, finishing with 18 points and 14 rebounds, with Kendric Davis and Isaac Humphries also double-digit scorers.
Sydney coach Brian Goorjian had to reach deep into his bench, but was unable to find a winning combination, import Cam Oliver with a team-high 16 points.
DJ GETS HOT
Adelaide ranked near the top of the league in most offensive statistics after four games, but was last in defensive rating heading into the clash with the high-scoring Kings, so a shootout was always on the cards and that’s exactly how proceedings kicked off.
Most of the action was from long range in the opening minutes, with the Sixers the league’s top-ranked three-point percentage shooting team, with both teams averaging just over 11 triples made per match.
The visitors blasted out of the blocks with an 8-0 run and were 3-from-3 from outside the arc in the early going, with the 36ers missing their first two three-point attempts in a disjointed start.
But as Vasiljevic got hot, the Kings went cold, going 0-from-5 from three-point range, with the home side charging to a four-point lead at the first break on the back of 12 points to DJ.
Former MVP leads Kings to road win | 01:11
MEDICAL ROOM
Sydney star Adams went to the bench in the second quarter with a lower back complaint and couldn’t make it back onto the court in a major blow to the visitors.
Cooks was also subdued with just six points in the first half, with some suggestion the star skipper was battling illness.
The Kings didn’t have a double-digit scorer at the main break, Keli Leaupepe with a team-high eight points.
With Davis and Humphries warming to the task, Adelaide went on 21-9 run to lead by as much as 16 before settling for 12-point halftime lead.
But with their backs against the wall, the Kings defied the odds to fight back, Cameron Oliver stepping up with nine points in the third quarter as the visitors went on a 13-3 run to slash the margin to just six points heading into the final term.
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