Sixers can't quite close the deal on JackJumpers

The Adelaide 36ers did well to recover from a slow start on Friday night at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre to take control of the contest but couldn’t quite complete the job against a desperate Tasmania JackJumpers.

The JackJumpers had six matches in their inaugural NBL season to go and were two games outside the top four coming into Friday's clash at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre so it was a must-win affair against the out of contention 36ers.

On the back of that, Tasmania came out firing racing to a 14-5 lead but Adelaide responded well fresh off beating an equally desperate South East Melbourne Phoenix on Sunday on the same floor.

After that nine-point deficit, Adelaide outscored Tasmania 54 points to 35 to be up 10 midway through the third quarter. The home team was still up six early in the fourth term and the JackJumpers had to find the answers.

They did so to score the next 16 points in-a-row to end up beating the 36ers by eight points in the finish.

Daniel Johnson again top-scored for Adelaide with 16 points, three rebounds and three assists with Sunday Dech contributing 15 points and five boards, Todd Withers eight points and three boards, Tad Dufelmeier seven points, and Mitch McCarron seven points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals.

Kai Sotto earned the start and put up six points and four rebounds as well for Adelaide with Mojave King adding five points and three assists, and Nick Marshall two points. Manny Malou pulled in four rebounds.

Adelaide coach CJ Bruton wasn’t happy with the start but did like the way his team responded up until early in the fourth quarter.

"I don’t think that we got the start that we really wanted. I thought the match ups was good and injecting Kai into the line-up, I thought having his size and presence at the start would have caused a few problems, and I thought it did," Bruton said.

"We just didn’t make shots and finish stuff, and the JackJumpers really play physical and they were really good with their toughness and how they play, and execute. 

"Instead of us giving the first punch, they gave it to us. It took us a little while to adjust but we got back and I thought by half-time we matched their effort and intensity level at an elite level."

Down the stretch, Bruton just felt that the discipline the JackJumpers showed to execute and following the plan was key to the final result.

"Then late in the game, we didn’t always stick to the game plan. In a timeout, I said something that we didn’t go and do and believe that if we play a certain way with a certain style for this game, which changes for the teams you play against," Bruton said. 

"We have a style of play but for this team we attack this team better this way than another way, and everyone feels good and in their groove so you let shoots fly a little bit more loosely. 

"You still have to go and get second efforts and challenge on the glass, and then on the defensive end Adams did what he does. 

"He's an elite player and he got on that right side of the floor where he likes to dominate, and did his thing by getting to the rim and keeping the scoreboard ticking over them. We knew what we needed to do to close out on that but weren’t able to do that."

It was Jack McVeigh's second return to his old home floor and he put on a show early for the JackJumpers. He hit a three to open the game's scoring before he capitalised on a sloppy 36ers backcourt turnover to throw it down over Kai Sotto and draw the foul.

That gave him Tasmania's first six points of the game and he then scored again as part of an 8-0 run that suddenly saw the JackJumpers lead 14-5 and they were finding the going far too easy for CJ Bruton's liking.

That soon changed after an Adelaide timeout with the home team coming out to hit eight of the next 11 points, but still the JackJumpers led 24-15 by quarter-time thanks to a triple from captain Clint Steindl.

Jarrad Weeks opened the second quarter by hitting his second three of the game already to stretch Tasmania's advantage to 12, but Todd Withers responded for Adelaide to begin a 7-0 run.

Sunday Dech then got rolling with some good finishing taking it to the basket as he went on an individual run of seven consecutive points to help Adelaide tie scores up. Mojave King then soon hit from deep as well to put Adelaide in front for the first time.

The Sixers maintained a 43-41 half-time edge and despite taking nine fewer field goals, they were going at 55 per cent in the half opposed to 42 from Tasmania who also struggled for 5/17 from beyond the arc with Adelaide managing 5/11.

The Sixers stretched that lead out to six to open the second half and they were able to keep the JackJumpers without a field goal for more than four minutes with the lead getting out to seven.

Tasmania finally got a field goal thanks to Magette and then McVeigh drained another open three. The 36ers had some momentum building, though, and went on another run of eight capped by a Tad Dufelmeier shot from downtown to open a game-high 10-point edge.

The JackJumpers had to dig deep and closed the quarter with and-one plays from MiKyle McIntosh and Adams, and then an Adams three-pointer brought the three quarter-time deficit back to four.

Adelaide was still up six early in the fourth but then consecutive three-pointers from Adams and McVeigh levelled up scores.

The JackJumpers went on with the job in remarkable fashion. Adams hit another three, scored again inside, Krslovic scored down low too and then the dagger blow came with Magette's first three-point make of the night.

That gave Tasmania the 10-point lead after a 16-0 run with two minutes to play and they went on to secure the critical eight-point win.

Both teams play again on Sunday in Round 18 of the NBL with the 36ers travelling to Brisbane to play the Bullets.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 18

ADELAIDE 36ERS 72 (Johnson 16, Dech 15, Withers 8)

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 80 (Adams 31, McVeigh 14, Krslovic 8, Magette 8) 

BOX SCORE