Vasiljevic returns, but 36ers fall to Wildcats

The return of captain DJ Vasiljevic was not enough as Adelaide 36ers fell to a 116-92 defeat to Perth Wildcats at the Entertainment Centre on Saturday night.

In front of a 11^th straight sellout crowd of 9495 people, the captain led from the front, scoring a team-high 23 points to go with five rebounds and three assists, but the visitors led all night.

Kendric Davis added 19 points to go with 10 assists, while Montrezl Harrell combined 13 points and seven rebounds and Isaac Humphries had 12 points with eight rebounds.

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Davis stole the ball from the opening tip, but the visitors swished their first three three-pointers to take an early 12-5 lead.

Vasiljevic came off the bench after a five-game stint on the sidelines and had an instant impact at the offensive end, scoring on three straight attempts and tied the game at 17-17.

Harrell also came off the bench and sparked the home crowd, scoring seven points in the opening quarter as both sides went to the first change locked away at 26-26.

A huge slam dunk from Harrell was followed by a three-point play from Jarell Martin, but the visitors kept scoring from beyond the arc, connecting on eight of their first 13 attempts to keep the lead 34-31.

The visitors hot shooting continued as the 36ers’ offense dried up, Perth opened up a double-digit lead at 50-38.

Harrell kept attacking the basket at will, scoring 13 first half points, but the Wildcats took a 55-42 lead into the main interval.

Adelaide started with renewed intent in the third quarter, a three-pointer from Lat Mayen cut the margin to 59-49 as the 36ers’ defensive intensity lifted.

Davis scored his first field goal midway through the third quarter, but the Wildcats continued to hit from outside as the visitors lead increased to 69-54.

Vasiljevic attacked the hoop, scoring back-to-back baskets and when a three-pointer from Mayen rimmed out on the buzzer, the Wildcats took a 78-63 lead into the final 10 minutes.

The Wildcats scored on the first three trips to open the final stanza as the lead increased beyond 20 points.

The captain tried to ignite his side, Humphries threw down a big dunk, but the visitors had all the answers.

Adelaide will be back in action on Monday night when the 36ers travel to Sydney to battle the Kings at Qudos Bank Arena from 7pm ACDT.

PERTH WILDCATS 116 (Windler 24, Pinder 23, Cotton 21) def ADELAIDE 36ERS 92 (Vasiljevic 23, Davis 19, Harrell 13) at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
Crowd: 9495
BOX SCORE