36ers fire in huge win over Bullets

Adelaide 36ers have snapped a three-game losing streak in emphatic fashion, with a 108-77 win against Brisbane Bullets at the Entertainment Centre on Saturday night.

Robert Franks and Antonius Cleveland sparked the home side as the 36ers blew the Bullets away with a blistering opening quarter avalanche.

Franks scored a game-high 25 points, while Cleveland had 20 points and nine rebounds and Anthony Drmic had a huge impact off the bench to add 16points.

Kai Sotto, who was brought into the starting line-up for Daniel Johnson (gastro), made an instant impact with a tip jam on the opening offense of the game.

Adelaide got their transition going early and when Cleveland scored on the break, the 36ers had a 10-3 lead.

The 36ers continued their relentless pressure at the defensive end and built a 14-point lead, Brisbane only making one field goal in the first five minutes before Aron Baynes made back-to-back baskets.

Brisbane, coming off a 85-76 loss to the Taipans in Cairns on Wednesday night, went to a zone defense, which stemmed Adelaide’s offense slightly, but the 36ers went into the first break with a 28-12 lead.

Cleveland opened the second quarter with a monster baseline dunk, but Brisbane scored the next 11 points to reduce the margin to 30-23.

The Bullets kept with their zone defense as Baynes tried to lift his side back into the contest, but back-to-back fast break finishes from Cleveland pushed the Adelaide lead back to 43-29.

Franks and Nick Marshall then sparked a late Adelaide 11-0 run as the 36ers went into the main break with a 54-35 lead.

Bullets started the second half with the first two baskets through DJ Mitchell and Jason Cadee before Franks continued his great night, then Sotto brought the crowd to life with back-to-back baskets.

Cleveland then threw down another highlight slam dunk in the break to give Adelaide its biggest lead at 64-42.

Franks then scored seven straight points and Cleveland added to his tally as the margin extended to 29 points and when Drmic scored on the three-quarter time buzzer, the 36ers took a 86-57 lead into the final 10 minutes.

The Bullets showed some fight to start the final quarter, but the night belonged to the 36ers as Adelaide got their NBL23 campaign back on track.

Sotto finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Sunday Dech added 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.

ADELAIDE 36ERS 108 (Franks 25, Cleveland 20, Drmic 16) def BRISBANE BULLETS 77 (Cadee 18, Gak 13, White III 12) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

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