36ers keen to rebound against Phoenix

Adelaide 36ers head coach Mike Wells said his side must come out and ‘set the tempo’ against South East Melbourne Phoenix at John Cain Arena on Sunday afternoon.

The 36ers will be keen to rebound quickly after Friday night’s 92-89 loss to Brisbane Bullets at the Entertainment Centre.

Wells said destiny is still in his side’s hands and is expecting a totally different side to come out against the Phoenix.

“We have talked about the goals to get there, to the playoffs and the finals and that is all right there in front of us,” Wells said.

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“We can set the tempo, we can control a lot of things that we can do.

"For the past month we have played well and we need to get our momentum back.”

Adelaide has won two of their past three matches on the road and Wells believes his side can succeed away from home.

“We have been a different team than we have been all year (on the road),” Wells said.

“We have proven we can win anywhere on the road, we are different to the first two thirds of the year.

“We have to come together and we have a hell of a challenge in front of us.”

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX vs ADELAIDE 36ERS
John Cain Arena, Sunday 4pm ACDT
Live on 10BOLD, ESPN via Kayo Sports

OVERALL
Played 20, Adelaide 11, South East Melbourne 9

LIKELY STARTERS
Phoenix: Nathan Sobey, Owen Foxwell, Joe Wieskamp, Matt Hurt, Jordan Hunter.
36ers: Kendric Davis, DJ Vasiljevic, Lat Mayen, Montrezl Harrell, Isaac Humphries.

LAST FIVE MATCHES
Dec 21, 2024 – Phoenix 106 def 36ers 86 at John Cain Arena
Oct 3, 2024 – 36ers 93 def Phoenix 83 at AEC
Jan 17, 2024 –36ers 110 def Phoenix 85 at State Basketball Centre
Nov 17, 2023 - 36ers 96 def 93 at AEC
Oct 19, 2023 – Phoenix 102 def 36ers 85 at AEC

STATS THAT MATTER
- Adelaide holds an 8-1 record when allowing fewer than 90 points this season.
- The 36ers hold a 9-1 record when Montrezl Harrell scores more than 20 points.
- Adelaide ranks 2nd in the league for field goal percentage this season (47.2%).
- Isaac Humphries ranks 3rd for FG% (61.6%) this season.
- Adelaide has scored 80+ points in its past 15 games - team's longest streak since NBL23.
- The 36ers rank 1st for free throw attempts per game this season (24.0).
- DJ Vasiljevic has a career average of 3.1 three-pointers made per game against SE Melbourne - most against any opponent.
- Sunday Dech is one of only four players in the league with a higher three-point field goal percentage (38.3%) than two-point field goal percentage (36.4%) this season.
- Kendric Davis has scored 20+ points in nine consecutive appearances - longest active streak of any player in the league.
- Montrezl Harrell has recorded 8+ rebounds in nine consecutive appearances - longest active streak of any player in the league.
- Isaac Humphries has a career average of 14.7 points per game against SE Melbourne - most against any opponent.