Sixers aiming to take home form on the road

Winning on the road is now the focus for Adelaide 36ers head coach Scott Ninnis ahead of Saturday night’s huge clash against Cairns Taipans in Far North Queensland.

Thursday night's win over reigning two-time NBL champion Sydney Kings has seen Adelaide post two back-to-back wins for just the second time this season, but now the 36ers face the first of three straight games on the road.

Adelaide has won just one of nine road games so far in NBL24, and that sole victory came against New Zealand back in Round 5 and the 36ers are currently on a five-game losing streak away from the Entertainment Centre.

“We’ve shown that we can win at home over the course of the season, but our road record is pretty ordinary. So we need to turn that around on Saturday night,” Ninnis said following the win over Sydney.

Ninnis took over the head coach role in a 116-101 loss to Cairns at home on December 9, but the 36ers have bounced back recently under the three-time NBL champion to win three of its past five games.

"We've won three games now in this short period of time so it is pleasing, and there's certainly been improvements in a lot of areas," Ninnis said.

"We'll continue to build on that and there was an opportunity to change a lot mid-season obviously,” Ninnis said.

“But there's certainly been buy-in with what we're doing at both ends of the court.

“There's a desperation now over these last two games in particular that has been very, very pleasing.

“Now it’s about getting bodies right showing that we can win on the road,” he said.

Adelaide 36ers import point guard Trey Kell agreed with Ninnis, and says playing the Taipans on Saturday night is an advantage as the side try to build on the two-game winning streak.

“The best thing is that we have a short turnaround so we can try and keep that momentum going,” Kell said.

“We’re feeling confident with ourselves, offensively and defensively, we’re doing things better.”

Adelaide will battle against Cairns Taipans on Saturday at 5pm ACDT, catch all the action live and exclusive on ESPN via Kayo Sports.

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CAIRNS TAIPANS vs ADELAIDE 36ERS
Cairns Convention Centre, Saturday 5pm ACDT

OVERALL
Played 84, Adelaide 45, Cairns 39

LAST FIVE MATCHES
Dec 9, 2023 - Taipans 116 def 36ers 101 at AEC
Jan 30, 2023 – 36ers 99 def Taipans 96 at Cairns Convention Centre
Dec 31, 2022 – Taipans 86 def 36ers 83 at Cairns Convention Centre
Dec 2, 2022 – 36ers 78 def Taipans 75 at AEC
Mar 18, 2022 – 36ers 83 def Taipans 57 at AEC

STATS THAT MATTER

• Nick Marshall plays his 50^th NBL game.
• Dejan Vasiljevic has scored the first basket in each of Adelaide's last two games.
• Cairns has won six of its past seven home games against Adelaide.
• Trey Kell III has recorded 15+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists in three consecutive appearances - longest active streak of any player in the league.
• Cairns has lost the second quarter in each of its last eight games.
• Dejan Vasiljevic recorded a career-high eight assists against Sydney on Thursday night.
• Cairns ranks 1st in the league for opponent three-point percentage this season (31.5%).
• Patrick Miller is one of only three players in the league to be leading their team in points (18.8) and assists (6.0) per game this season.
• Patrick Miller has recorded 5+ assists in five consecutive appearances - longest active streak of any player in the league.
• Bobi Klintman recorded a career-high four three-pointers in his last outing against Adelaide in Round 10.
• Tahjere McCall recorded a career-high 15 assists in his last outing against Adelaide in Round 10.
• Adelaide has won the third quarter in each of its last six games against Cairns.