Second half surge lifts 36ers past Breakers

Adelaide 36ers have produced a stunning third quarter performance in Wednesday night’s 98-91 win against New Zealand Breakers at Gold Coast Sports & Leisure Centre.

The 36ers made a huge statement with a 34-17 explosion in the third quarter after trailing at the main break to go 2-0 at the NBL Blitz.

Import point guard Kendric Davis was impressive, scoring a game-high 23 points to go with five rebounds and four assists, while big man Isaac Humphries was huge with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

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DJ Vasiljevic was huge down the stretch, scoring 15 points with three assists and two rebounds, Lat Mayen added 10 points and five rebounds and Alex Starling, who was promoted into the starting five, was outstanding for nine points, five rebounds and two assists.

Adelaide again started strong, opening the game on a 9-2 run with Humphries prominent inside and Mayen throwing down a big dunk from a sweet Starling assist.

Humphries was everywhere at both ends of the floor as the 36ers defence was locked in before the Breakers connected on back-to-back three-pointers.

Jason Cadee started where he left off against Tasmania, swishing his opening triple and Ben Griscti finished twice inside as Adelaide took a 28-22 lead into quarter time.

The Breakers started the second quarter with an 8-0 run to take the lead for the first time in the match and when Matt Mooney connected from beyond the arc, the Breakers had a 39-32 advantage.

Humphries checked back into the game with instant impact and again became the focus inside, scoring 18 points in the opening half, but the Breakers hot shooting continued.

New Zealand scoring 29 second quarter points with Mojave King prominent, but when Mayen tipped in a Humphries miss on the buzzer, the Breakers took a 51-44 lead into the main interval.

Starling kickstarted a stunning 7-0 run in the opening minute of the third quarter, swishing a three-pointer then stealing the ball to find Davis for a fast break lay-up.

Mayen found Humphries inside to tie the game 51-51 and when Vasiljevic swished a three-pointer, the 36ers had the lead back 54-52.

After the Breakers regained the lead 60-58, Adelaide went on an 8-0 run with Cadee and Vasiljevic swishing back-to-back triples.

Davis then connected on from downtown on the buzzer as the 36ers took a 78-68 lead into the final 10 minutes.

Adelaide controlled the final quarter as the Breakers tried to cut the margin multiple times, reducing the gap to seven points on multiple occasions.

Davis took over in the final moments, swishing a huge three-pointer before ending proceedings with a tough layup at the basket.

The 36ers will be back in action on Friday afternoon when Adelaide face South East Melbourne Phoenix from 4.30pm SA time. You can watch all the action live and exclusive on Kayo Freebies. 

ADELAIDE 36ERS 98 (Davis 23, Humphries 20, Vasiljevic 15) def NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 91 (Jackson-Cartwright 21, Mooney 20, King 18) at Gold Coast Sports & Leisure Centre.

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