Firing Humphries striving for team success

Adelaide 36ers centre Isaac Humphries knows he is in career-best form, but team success is driving the big man to even greater heights.

Humphries scored a team-high 28 points, the most he has put on the scoresheet in an NBL game and collected 11 rebounds in the 36ers’ 111-101 overtime loss to the Taipans in Cairns on Saturday night.

But Humphries said the big night out on the stats sheet means little without victory, which would have been Adelaide’s third success in seven days.

“That’s one of those ones where you sit in the locker room and think ‘we deserved to win that one’, we just faltered at the end there,” Humphries said post-game.

“It’s just as disappointing as it gets, that would have been so good for us, for our morale and what we have been doing lately and what we have been trying to achieve, it just would have been so good for us.

“That’s going to hurt for a while, but we got to go on the road and play in a few days again.”

Adelaide is back on the road and face fellow NBL top six aspirant South East Melbourne Phoenix at the State Basketball Centre on Wednesday night.

Humphries knows he has to continue his great form and says the team is “not too far away” from getting on a roll.

“I know I’m playing good basketball but I’m not focusing on that, I come in, do what I need to do for the team,” Humphries said.

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“I want to win games; I want to play really hard and I want to show what I can do.

“I have essentially had two years off from playing basketball with my injuries and stuff and I’m so healthy, I feel great right now.

“I think that injury narrative can finally go away, and I can just come in and play good basketball which I think I’m doing.”

Adelaide will battle South East Melbourne Phoenix this Wednesday night from 7pm ACDT, catch all the action live and exclusive on ESPN via Kayo Sports.