Energetic Sixers return with strong win over Wildcats

Coming out of a 31-day break midway through a season is something unprecedented in professional sport, but the Adelaide 36ers responded as well as possible opening up a 28-point first half lead on the way to beating the Perth Wildcats 87-74.

Having last played in Cairns back on December 18 in what turned out to be a disappointing loss, the 36ers hadn’t played another game since in #NBL22 with COVID taking hold with members of the squad testing positive, and with the protocols forcing them to spend significant time in isolation.

That meant that despite the 31 days in between games, the Sixers only had five practice sessions as a group in total in that time leading into Tuesday night's return to action at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre against the ladder-leading Wildcats.

How the Sixers were going to come out after those circumstances and with Manny Malou, Nick Marshall, Kai Sotto and Zac Gattorna not hitting the floor and with Isaac Humphries giving just a brief less than five-minute cameo, was anyone's guess.

The answer was a remarkable opening, though, with the 36ers racing to a 25-7 start against Perth who also hadn’t played since New Year's Eve in Cairns. Adelaide extended that advantage to 28 in the second half and then shook off a shaky third quarter to finish strongly and win by 13.

Even with the players unavailable, there was plenty to like from the Adelaide performance and earning his first start for the club, Cam Bairstow showed the way with 19 points and 10 rebounds on 8/12 shooting.

Daniel Johnson put up 21 points and eight rebounds as well including hitting 3/6 from beyond the arc while captain Mitch McCarron stood tall to deliver 10 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.

Sunday Dech made his first appearance of the season following a hematoma in his quad and was impressive too with 10 points and three rebounds in almost 20 minutes of court time.

Todd Withers added nine points and four rebounds for the 36ers, Dusty Hannahs nine points and three assists, Hyrum Harris six points and three rebounds, and Mojave King three points.

Sixers coach CJ Bruton saw how other teams had struggled coming out of their breaks but was delighted with the approach his team took to ensure it didn’t happen to them.

"Watching the last couple of teams like Brisbane and South East come out and play their first games, it was like 'Wow, are we going to be this team?'" Bruton said. 

"I told our boys that I didn’t think we would but there was a way we had to go about it to not be like that. We did come out with energy, we made shots and our delivery was good and direct with what we wanted to do. It kept us in a good position to hang onto the game."

Having had a full 31 days in between matches, the 36ers came out ready to roll on Tuesday night in front of their home fans and it was captain Mitch McCarron setting the tone with a quick three ball.

Daniel Johnson soon followed suit and the Sixers were up 8-2 and they were far from done yet.

McCarron nailed a second three ball of the first quarter to spark a stunning 14-0 run for Adelaide. That included Sunday Dech pulling off a four-point play in his first game of the season and Next Star Mojave King nailed from downtown as well.

Adelaide's lead grew to 25-7 and was still 29-13 by quarter-time on the back of a three ball from Todd Withers in a hot shooting start from the 36ers as they made the most of finally being back on the court.

It was Cam Bairstow who helped extend the lead to start the second quarter with five quick points and then another 10-0 run soon after including triples to Bairstow and Johnson saw that lead get out to a game-high 28 points.

Perth was always going to fire back and they did through Vic Law and Bryce Cotton, but a three-point play from Dech and trademark turnaround jumper from Johnson ensured Adelaide went into half-time up 55-34.

Three-pointers in the opening six minutes of the second half from Dech and Johnson maintained a double-figure lead for Adelaide, but they would be the home team's only field goals made in the third quarter.

Up the other end, the Wildcats managed to score 24 points including the last seven of the quarter with the Sixers lead back to 67-58 by three quarter-time.

The 36ers responded well to start the fourth period with the opening eight points to see their lead grow back out to 17. While the 'Cats responded with the next seven points, the Sixers had all the answers down the stretch on their home floor to end up winning by 13.

The 36ers now remain at home the rest of the week to prepare to take on the red hot Melbourne United back at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Saturday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 7

ADELAIDE 36ERS 87 (Johnson 21, Bairstow 19, McCarron 10, Dech 10)

PERTH WILDCATS 74 (Law 16, Cotton 12, Frazier 10) 

BOX SCORE