36ers ‘didn’t find rhythm’ against Bullets

Adelaide 36ers head coach Mike Wells said his side couldn’t find its tempo during Friday night’s 92-89 loss to Brisbane Bullets at the Entertainment Centre.

The 36ers fought back from a 13-point final quarter deficit, but came up short after a potential game tying three-pointer from Kendric Davis caught iron just before the final buzzer.

Wells said his side tried different rotations, combinations and scouts during the three-point loss, but couldn’t spark the fast break game, which has been evident over the past month.

“We have done things defensively that’s fueled our offense, and tonight wasn’t that,” Wells said post-game.

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“We didn’t get the stops, the contests and the run outs.

“We missed 39 shots and only got six offensive rebounds.

“You want to control that type of stuff, turn your defense into offense.

“That one stings a little bit.”

Wells thought his side had found its form after half time, Adelaide keeping Brisbane scoreless for nearly three minutes to build a seven-point lead.

“We were trying to get our rhythm, it just never happened, but we did get it out to 49-42 in the third and it felt like ‘ok,we are going to make some plays’, then in a couple of possessions we were behind again,” Wells said.

“We were constantly fighting up hill.

“We tried to put our guys in the best position to be successful, but unfortunately that didn’t happen tonight.”

Wells said the fans deserved a better showing from a side that had six of their past eight matches to fight into the NBL top six.

“You want to put on a good show for these fans, they have been unbelievably supportive this year, 14 sell outs, and you want to come in and play well, and win,” Wells said.

“It feels bad, it feels really bad for that to be the last regular season home game and to not close out a really, really good stretch and a good home season.”

Adelaide will be back in action on Sunday afternoon, when the 36ers travel to John Cain Arena to battle South East Melbourne Phoenix from 4pm ACDT.