Wells: Brisbane win set up by “exceptional week” of practice

Adelaide 36ers Head Coach Mike Wells says Friday night’s big home win over Brisbane was the culmination of a strong week on the training court during the FIBA break.

The Sixers won 90-65 on the back of strong second and third period at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

The win was the Sixers’ fifth in a row – the first time the club has won five straight since 2017 – and sees Wells’ side move to 12-3 after 15 games – just one win short of last season’s final tally.

A pragmatic head coach said after seven games in 20 days prior to the FIBA standstill, getting some practice in paid dividends.

“I just I think we had a really good week of practice,” Wells said after the game.

“I think that that's what you saw. The guys were exceptional this week.

“I thought we had five or six really good practises where everybody was invested in trying to do all the right things.

“I think we have the right culture, we have the right guys, and it was all about trying to get better this week, and I think that's the result of us finally having a week or so of practises, you know, after playing two a week for maybe three or four weeks.”

While the final margin was big, the Sixers didn’t have it all their own way.

The Bullets were well and truly in the game in the first period when all that separated the sides was a three-pointer to Troy Brown Jnr in the dying seconds.

But Cotton went to work in the second period, adding 13 points for the quarter and forming a formidable offensive combination with Zylan Cheatham and Isaac Humphries.

Defensively the Sixers were sound too, restricting the Bullets to just 13 points – their lowest second quarter score this season – and the margin was suddenly out to 17 points at the half time break.

Unfortunately for the Bullets things got worse in the third quarter with Cheatham continuing to bring the energy on both ends of the court and new Brown showing signs that he made the most of some time with his new side during the FIBA break.

It was a game-high 35-point lead for the Sixers at three-quarter time and the sell-out 9835 strong Adelaide Arena Crowd was rocking.

The big lead allowed Wells to rest some of his stars ahead of a short turnaround to face Perth on Sunday, and the Bullets put some respectability on the scoreboard, but the damage had been done.

Wells said the side was looking forward to heading west – not so much because Cotton will be playing against his former side, but more because they’d be looking to get one back after a disappointing home loss to the Wildcats earlier in the season.

“For the team, it's another opportunity to play a road game. and (against) a team that beat us,” Wells said.

“That's all I can speak to. I've been involved, maybe in some of those type things, when guys go back and play their former teams in my NBA life, but all of those things are different.

“His years in Perth were amazing. I hope they give him up appropriate response and the respect for what he did for that city and that organisation.

“We're just blessed that he's here with us.”