United beat 36ers in thriller

Melbourne United have put a dent in the Adelaide 36ers’ NBL23 playoff hopes, with a 94-87 win in front of another sell out crowd at the Entertainment Centre on Saturday night.

The visitors caught fire from long range, connecting 16 three-pointers in the seven-point success in front of 9505 fans on Brett Maher Court.

United sharpshooter Chris Goulding scored a game-high 28 points, while import pair Rayjon Tucker and Xavier Rathan-Mayes combined for 45 points, with 38 of them coming in the second half.

Adelaide were led by power forward Robert Franks, who had a team-high 24 points and 10 rebounds with six assists, while Kai Sotto was huge at both ends of the court and combined 15 points with seven rebounds.

Swingman Antonius Cleveland picked up two quick fouls within the first minute and Goulding started with the hot hand, connecting on four of his first five shots and scored United’s first 10 points.

Cleveland responded with a monster dunk over Marcus Lee, but quickly picked up his third foul, which sent the swingman to the bench for a majority of the opening half.

Melbourne opened an early eight-point lead, but the home side responded with a 9-3 run to reduce the margin to 19-17.

Lee proved to be thorn under the hoop late in the opening quarter and when Brad Newley made a tip in on the buzzer, United took a 28-21 lead at the first break.   

Adelaide scored the first six points of the second quarter to reduce the margin to 28-27, but United then scored the next 10 points.

With Ian Clark missing due to a leg injury, Sunday Dech (14 points) stepped up to deliver nine first half points as the home side fought back late, going on a 12-2 run to take the lead for the first time in the contest.

Nick Marshall injected some momentum as the home side powered back into the match, holding United to just 11 second quarter points to take a 40-39 lead into the main break.

Sotto gave Adelaide a three-point lead to start the third quarter, but Goulding continued to stay hot, scoring five straight points as United took back the lead 46-44.

Cleveland picked up his fourth foul almost straight away and then Goulding then caught fire, hitting his third three-pointer of the quarter as the visitors built a 52-46 lead.

Franks then sparked the home side, attacking the hoop and getting to the free throw line, and when Daniel Johnson found Dech under the basket, the 36ers were back in front 59-58.

Rayjon Tucker found his range from beyond the arc, hitting consecutive three-pointers, and when Xavier Rathan-Mayes connected from deep, United had nine of 12 triples in the quarter to take a 70-64 into the final 10 minutes.

Franks put the home side on his shoulders to open the final stanza, scoring a quick five points and when Marshall made a sweet move, the game was tied 76-76.

But United continue with their hot shooting, Goulding, Tucker and Rathan-Mayes all connecting on big shots as the visitors went on a decisive 11-0 run.

Adelaide had one last rally through Franks, but United came up big in the final moments.

MELBOURNE UNITED 94 (Goulding 28, Tucker 25, Rathan-Mayes 20) def ADELAIDE 36ERS 87 (Franks 24, Sotto 15, Dech 14) at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

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