Round 18 Preview v Sydney Kings

The Adelaide 36ers return to Qudos Bank Arena where they scored a memorable overtime win a week ago looking to repeat the dose against the Sydney Kings to strengthen their playoff push.

It's getting to the point now where every game is virtually must win for the teams in the race for those third and fourth positions, and with the South East Melbourne Phoenix and Illawarra Hawks on winning streaks who are in those spots, that's even more so the case for the chasing pack.

The Kings and 36ers are both well and truly in that group, but with Sydney having now lost its past three matches and then Adelaide's three-game winning run coming to an end on Tuesday in Wollongong, Sunday's game takes on even greater significance.

The 36ers had strung together some brilliant form at home back at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre with double-digit wins against Illawarra, Perth, Brisbane and Cairns, and then brought that form on the road with them last Sunday to score that overtime win in Sydney over the Kings.

That saw them have plenty of momentum and a fully fit and available squad who were clicking, but Tuesday night in Wollongong didn’t go to plan against the Hawks who held them to just 66 points for the game, and 38 points for the three quarters not including the second along with forcing them into an uncharacteristically high 24 turnovers.

That's given Adelaide plenty to think about now heading into Sunday's game back in Sydney where they will be without big man Isaac Humphries due to some soreness in the foot that saw him already miss a large chunk of the #NBL21 season.

The 36ers come into the game with a 13-17 record and with the Hawks in fourth spot at 15-14, they don’t have much room to move but certainly with six games to go they are still in the playoff hunt and can strengthen that case in Sydney on Sunday.

Sixers coach Conner Henry has been happy with the preparation now for Sunday's game even without Isaac Humphries.

"We've announced that Isaac will not play. We're just mindful of his lower leg issues so we're just trying to rest him and see if it can respond with a couple of days rest before we get back for next week's two game clash at home," Henry said on Sixers Fix with Scott Ninnis.

"We are doing OK even though we gave one back the other night in Illawarra which was really disappointing to us after winning three in-a-row and really playing well, and some good stretches of ball.

"But I think we've recovered from that, we had a good work out in Sydney on Saturday and we're ready for the game."

Sydney has now dropped outside the top four following their last three defeats at the hands of 
Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane for them to now hold a 14-15 recording coming into Sunday's game on their home floor. 

Not only did they lose on Thursday night to the Bullets, but they only put up 70 points and lost by 23 so they will be desperate for a significantly improved performance.

The positive was the return of Xavier Cooks for his first game of the season for Sydney and with Brad Newley and Shaun Bruce expected to play for the Kings on Sunday too the positive for coach Adam Forde is that he'll have the squad that he has that can still play this season all available for the crucial clash.

Speaking of Forde, it has been an eventful lead into Sunday's game with the news that he won't be continuing on as head coach at the Kings beyond this season. How that affects the group on Sunday, only time will tell.

It was only seven days ago when the two teams met in a cracking contest at the same venue in a game that went to overtime, and it was the 36ers who dominated the extra period to get a crucial road win against the Kings.

The Kings were on top most of the afternoon leading by as much as 16 to start the second half, and still by five with 2:30 to go in regulation after a huge triple from Tom Vodanovich. 

But Adelaide was able to force overtime on the back of a corner three from big man Isaac Humphries, and then it was Daniel Johnson's turn to dominate the extra period for the visitors.

He only had seven points on 2/13 shooting going into overtime, but he delivered a remarkable performance in the final five minutes nailing three triples on his way to 13 points to end up top-scoring for Adelaide with 20 points and eight rebounds. 

Sunday Dech also scored his only points of the game in overtime as Adelaide went on a 13-0 run to secure the seven-point win and keep their playoff hopes alive.

On top of Johnson's overtime heroics, Next Star Josh Giddey collected his third triple-double in the last four games and secured it with the rebound on the game's last possession. He finished the afternoon with an impressive 11 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. 

Brandon Paul was strong in the first four quarters with 19 points while Tony Crocker also scored 12 points for the Adelaide, Keanu Pinder 11 and Isaac Humphries 11 to go with nine rebounds and six emphatic blocks.

Dech also had nine rebounds and nine assists to go with his stifling defence but really Adelaide was impressive with 20 offensive rebounds for 33 second chance points, and with their 10 blocks as a team.

HUNGRY JACK'S 2021 NBL SEASON – ROUND 18

ADELAIDE 36ERS v SYDNEY KINGS
Qudos Bank Arena, Sunday 4.30pm ACDT

Broadcast – SBS Viceland, SBS on Demand, NBL TV, Twitch