Mudronja shines, DJ battles in tough night v Kings

Alex Mudronja sent a message of what he's capable of and Daniel Johnson battled like the warrior that he is but it wasn't quite the end to this home stand the Adelaide 36ers were hoping for on Saturday night against the Sydney Kings.

The 36ers were on a high having won their past three matches this NBL season and then having a week in between last Saturday's win against the Kings before again hosting them this Saturday night at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

A season high crowd of 7317 turned out for the occasion but it wasn’t the night the 36ers were hoping for to end this run of seven home matches to open the season.

There are still plenty of positives and the fact they still have a positive 4-3 record before playing in Brisbane next Saturday night means this game is one that can quickly be moved on from.

The 94-75 win for Sydney saw the Kings deliver their best performance of the season on the back of imports Casper Ware and Jarell Martin combining for 50 points including 24 in the fourth quarter.

The Coach Reflects – Round 3 

Humphries and support cast keep 36ers winning 

The final scoreline doesn’t mean it wasn’t a game without some positives for the Sixers though.

Daniel Johnson battled hard as he always does and top-scored for Adelaide with 21 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Sunday Dech also had 13 points and two assists, Josh Giddey 11 points, six rebounds and four assists, Jack McVeigh six points and six boards, Tony Crocker five points and three assists, Isaac Humphries four points, eight rebounds and four blocks, and Keanu Pinder four points and five boards.

Alex Mudronja might have been the biggest shining light from the game as he showed what he's capable of in the NBL. He ended up playing over 17 minutes and had 11 points, two rebounds and two assists.

Adelaide coach Conner Henry gave credit to Sydney, but did expect a better showing from his team.

"I don’t think we were quite as ready as we should have been to start the game, but Adam (Forde) does a really nice job and they sit in deep on our bigs and try to take our post game away," Henry said.

"Then they blew up our pick-and-roll coverage with a hard show and we quite frankly couldn't throw out of that and find the extra easy pass to counter that. We didn’t play as well as we thought we were going to after having a number of days, but Sydney played really well I thought."

The 36ers went inside early and Isaac Humphries and Daniel Johnson scored the game's first baskets and when Johnson and Sunday Dech hit three-pointers, it was a 12-8 start.

Jack McVeigh came on and hit two quick threes as well but the Kings managed to go into quarter-time up 21-18.

Josh Giddey came up with an and-one play early in the second quarter and Dech did hit another triple, but Sydney had managed to open up a double-digit advantage.

Just when Sydney had all the momentum, Adelaide responded sparked by a Tony Crocker three ball. That turned into a 10-0 run and scores were level. But again the Kings kicked away to go into half-time leading 48-39.

The Kings opened up the second half with a 14-4 run as the lead got out to 19 points before a Johnson three-point play, and then five quick Alex Mudronja at least gave the Sixers something to go into the fourth quarter with.

Mudronja then hit a three early in the fourth and then so did Johnson and Dech hit another, but the Kings were feeling it and with their imports Casper Ware and Jarell Martin unstoppable, they went on to win by 19.

2020/21 Hungry Jack's NBL Season - Round 4

ADELAIDE 36ERS 75 (Johnson 21, Dech 13, Giddey 11, Mudronja 11)

SYDNEY KINGS 94 (Ware 27, Martin 23, Vasiljevic 15) 

Box Score

Game highlights available here

Press conference with Conner Henry and Daniel Johnson here

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Adelaide 36ers v Brisbane Bullets
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Adelaide 36ers v Brisbane Bullets
Adelaide Entertainment Centre

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