36ers too hot for Phoenix in opener

A blistering third quarter rampage has sparked the Adelaide 36ers’ 84-76 win over South East Melbourne Phoenix in the NBL Blitz opener at Marrara Indoor Stadium on Friday night.

The 36ers, who had to travel to Darwin via a full day in Alice Springs on Thursday, started sluggish, giving up the first two baskets, before Antonius Cleveland threw down a slam dunk to get Adelaide into action.

Cleveland was active as ever on the perimeter, showing why he is the reigning NBL Defensive Player of the Year, creating turnovers and putting pressure on the Phoenix offense, which kickstarted Adelaide’s attack.

Captain Mitch McCarron got his scoring account open early, as the 36ers rebounded to go into the first break 21-20 leaders.

Phoenix, who were missing Mitch Creek (foot), Ryan Broekoff (hamstring) and Trey Kell (illness), showed resilience a number of times throughout the contest, but when the 36ers flicked the switch, Adelaide’s best looked amazing.

Hyrum Harris then made an instant impact off the bench after checking in to start the second quarter, making his first two baskets off sweet post moves and Robert Franks, in his 36ers debut, hit a transition three-pointer to give Adelaide a 35-24 break, forcing Phoenix into a time out.

South East Melbourne responded through their captain Kyle Adnam late in the second quarter to reduce the 36ers’ lead to six points (39-33) at the main break.

The 36ers exploded after the interval, scoring 11 of the first 13 points in the third quarter, including two dunks from Craig Randall II, to extend the lead to 50-35.

Adelaide continued the onslaught, and the highlights, as Kai Sotto continued to block shots and Nick Marshall finished off an alley-oop in transition as the 36ers’ lead ballooned to 20 points.

But again, the Phoenix rallied late in a quarter to reduce the 36ers’ advantage to 63-53 with 10 minutes to play.

Adelaide pushed the lead back to 75-61 after another Marshall layup, but Phoenix import guard Gary Browne sparked his side and put South East Melbourne within reach, his three-pointer cutting the margin to 75-68.

Three consecutive turnovers handed the Phoenix an opportunity to steal an impossible victory, but Daniel Johnson stepped up to make his first three-pointer of the game to settle the nerves.

McCarron, who was everywhere with 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists, threw down a spectacular fast break flush to finish off proceedings.

Randall II had a team-high 16 points to go with four rebounds and three assists, while Cleveland added 12 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Marshall showed why he is one to watch in NBL23 with 11 points and six rebounds and Harris was impressive with eight points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Adelaide, who took six of a possible seven NBL Blitz points agains the Phoenix, will be back in action on Monday against Tasmania JackJumpers from 5pm local time.

ADELAIDE 84 (Randall II 16, McCarron 12, Cleveland 12) def SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE 76 (Adnam 19, Williams 13, Madut 11) at Marrara Indoor Stadium, Darwin.

FULL STATS HERE