Bruton: 'We got some work to do'

Adelaide 36ers coach CJ Bruton said his side will use the FIBA World Cup window to ‘work on some things’ after Saturday night’s 94-89 loss to Perth Wildcats at the Entertainment Centre.

In front of a record crowd of 9071, Adelaide fought back from a double-digit deficit early, but the Wildcats found a way down the stretch to snap their five-game losing streak.

Bruton said his side need to work out their sloppy starts on their home floor, a trend he is keen to reverse, especially with six games on Brett Maher Court in December.

“We have to take care of the ball, we had as many turnovers as we did points at one stage there early in the game,” Bruton said.

“Playing from behind hurts, but we did a nice job of crawling back into the game, even though we didn’t have a lead for very long.

“The energy to get back into it, the way we shared the ball and play with that passion, energy from the crowd gave us that bit of a punch too.

“We have had a couple of games with high turnovers, now we got a little time to go and work on some things, sharpen up so we are ready for Melbourne.”

With six minutes remaining, Adelaide held a 74-69, only for the Wildcats to score 14 unanswered points to take the game away from the home side.

“Our league is good, it’s powerful, it’s a tough league,” Bruton said.

“You see how close it is this year, for every game it’s a battle, from first to last you got to punch.

“Games are going to overtime and double overtime, it’s always going to be a fight all the way to the end.”

Adelaide will travel to Melbourne to face United on November 17 before heading across the Tasman to play New Zealand Breakers on November 21.