Stunning 36ers performance to beat Wildcats out west

The Adelaide 36ers were switched on, motivated and determined coming into Thursday night at RAC Arena and produced a commanding performance to beat the Perth Wildcats 82-70.

Right from the outset the Sixers appeared ready to produce one of their best performances of the season and they delivered despite the Wildcats being at home in front of 10,272 fans and needing to win as they attempt to lock away a finals berth.

The 36ers would have none of it and were in control of the contest right from the outset with Daniel Johnson and Sunday Dech setting the tone, Dusty Hannahs then coming in to provide a spark and captain Mitch McCarron leading right from the front.

There was so much to like about the performance from the 36ers as they limited the Wildcats to shooting 39 per cent from the field and 27 from three with 6/22.

The defensive performance from Sunday Dech on Bryce Cotton, with help from Mitch McCarron, was brilliant with the triple MVP winner finishing with seven points on 3/16 shooting for Perth.

Dech's impact wasn’t just defensive either. He produced 23 points, nine rebounds and two assists for the night on the back of shooting 8/13 from the field and a perfect 6/6 at the foul line.

Daniel Johnson had another enjoyable return home to Perth with 23 points and six rebounds on shooting 7/13 from the floor and 4/9 from downtown.

Dusty Hannahs enjoyed his return from a wrist injury as well scoring 21 points including hitting 3/5 from beyond the arc.

Captain Mitch McCarron added eight points, nine rebounds, six assists and five steals for Adelaide, Todd Withers five points, three boards and two assists, and Kai Sotto two points and three rebounds.

Sixers coach CJ Bruton was rightfully proud of his team's performance.

"The attention to detail showed that they were very switched on clearly coming back off losing our last home game," Bruton said. 

"There is so much that different teams run so we focused in on a couple of points and it's more about the individual scout, and what we wanted to take away from certain players on the Wildcats roster.

"The boys were very switched on, they played great attention to detail and they delivered. The former Wildcat (Dech) came out and played his part as well as the former Willetton player DJ back in their old home towns."

The energy and intensity the 36ers brought into the contest was obvious right from the outset. Sunday Dech scored first and Daniel Johnson then hit a triple and the two locals gave Adelaide the 5-0 start.

Todd Withers then connected from downtown for the 10-4 start and Dech was just getting started. Not only was he locking down Bryce Cotton like very few ever have, but he scored a couple more buckets and he had eight points already as part of the 14-7 start for the Sixers.

Dusty Hannahs then marked his return for the first time in four games following a wrist injury and scored immediately for the 36ers. Dech then hit a triple and Hannahs put up 11 points in just four minutes for Adelaide to be up 30-15 after one.

The expected Wildcats fightback never really eventuated and that was simply because the Sixers' just didn’t allow it. Johnson scored three times early in the second term to stop Perth's run of six points before the lead was out to 20 following a Mitch McCarron putback and Hannahs triple.

While the 'Cats scored the next eight points, Adelaide continued to have all the answers and Johnson connected from downtown to make it a 15-point game. He then drained another bomb to make it 19 and the Sixers were still up 49-38 at the half-time break.

The second half started in familiar fashion with Dech and Johnson combining to extend Adelaide's lead back out to 16 with the opening five points. Dech kept the scoreboard ticking over and then another triple from Hannahs had the Sixers back out to a 19-point advantage.

Two free throws from Dech stretched the margin out to 21 and the 36ers weren’t going to let this one slip. The closest the Wildcats got the rest of the way was the final margin of 12 points and Adelaide couldn’t have been more impressive in the win inside The Jungle.

The 36ers now face an even bigger test heading to Sydney to take on the Kings on a 13-game winning streak on Sunday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 20

ADELAIDE 36ERS 82 (Johnson 23, Dech 23, Hannahs 23) 

PERTH WILDCATS 70 (Law 20, Hodgson 16, Blanchfield 9)

BOX SCORE