Match wrap: Sixers dominate Hawks with Cheatham triple-double

Things fired up late when tempers boiled, but the Adelaide 36ers had already set up a huge win by then with the season's first triple-double from Zylan Cheatham, 17 third-quarter points from Bryce Cotton and the eventual 106-78 win over the Illawarra Hawks.

The 36ers returned to the Adelaide Entertainment Centre for just the fourth time so far this season and needing a bounce back performance following a last up loss at home to Brisbane.

The Hawks arrived confident after road wins in Perth and Cairns, and it was a tight battle until the 36ers started to take control with 27 points to 16 in the second quarter to be up 12 at the half.

Cotton then had 17 of his 22 points for the game in the third quarter with the Sixers piling on 36 points on 12/16 shooting to be up 25 by three quarter-time.

That lead got out to as much as 32 in the fourth quarter but with just under four minutes to go things spiralled after Nick Rakocevic gave Makur Maker a shove under the basket.

Davo Hickey came in with a shove to Rakocevic to defend his teammate, and then a big scuffle broke out that landed in the nearby Hawks bench.

The end result was a technical and flagrant foul to Maker leading to his ejection, a tech on Rakocevic and a flagrant on Hickey, and from there the 36ers went on to win by 28 to improve to 6-6.

Cheatham produced the first triple-double of NBL27 made up of 21 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in just 31 minutes and on 8/12 field goal shooting.

Rakocevic also produced 20 points, 16 rebounds and six assists with John Jenkins III adding 17 points on 5/8 three-point shooting, Jacob Rigoni eight points and three rebounds, and Matt Kenyon six points, three assists and three steals along with outstanding defence.

The Hawks are now 4-9 with Tyler Harvey top-scoring with 19 points on 8/11 shooting but he didn’t get enough help.

Kelan Martin had 12 points with Wani Swaka Lo Buluk finishing with eight while Lamar Patterson contributed seven points and three rebounds, and Hickey six points and 12 assists.

The Sixers were back home and needing a win while the Hawks had won their last two to be building some momentum, and it was a tight battle through the first quarter with Adelaide leading 22-21 by the end of it.

Zylan Cheatham already had six points and three assists while Tyler Harvey hadn’t missed for Illawarra with eight points while Kelan Martin went 3/4 for seven points.

The 36ers then worked on top in the second quarter and that was without Bryce Cotton needing to have a big say.

The six-time MVP had just four points on 1/9 shooting but he was getting plenty of help with Cheatham up to 11 points, six rebounds and seven assists, and John Jenkins III knocking down 5/5 from deep for 15 points.

That saw the Sixers leading 49-37 by half-time while getting up eight extra shot attempts and eight more free throws on the back of nine offensive rebounds and forcing the Hawks into 11 turnovers.

Adelaide then took total control in the third quarter piling on 36 points with Cotton catching fire for 17 of those with 4/4 shooting from the field and 2/2 from beyond the arc.

As a team, the 36ers shot 12/16 with 3/4 from deep and 9/9 from the foul line to be in command at 85-60 by three quarter-time

The fourth quarter was then marred by the incident that started with Makur Maker and Nick Rakocevic, before Davo Hickey intervened and then spilled all the way into the Illawarra bench, and ended with four free throws for the Sixers and an ejection for Maker.

It was party time after that for the 36ers, capped off by 16-year-old Raheim Brown Jr hitting the floor and hitting a three just before the buzzer to the delight of the 36ers faithful.

The 36ers remain at home to host Melbourne United now on Thursday night with Flynn Cameron expected to return with the Hawks remaining on the road in an Ignite Cup clash on Wednesday to the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

ADELAIDE 36ERS 106 – ILLAWARRA HAWKS 78

Adelaide 36ers
Bryce Cotton – 22 points, 4 assists, 10/11 FT
Zylan Cheatham – 21 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists
Nick Rakocevic – 20 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists
John Jenkins III – 17 points, 2 rebounds, 5/8 3PT
Jacob Rigoni – 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2/3 3PT

Illawarra Hawks
Tyler Harvey – 19 points, 5 rebounds, 8/11 FG
Kelan Martin – 12 points, 4 rebounds
Wani Swaka Lo Buluk – 8 points, 2/4 3PT
Lamar Patterson – 7 points, 3 rebounds
Makur Maker – 7 points, 2 rebounds

BOX SCORE

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