Wells: Phoenix win a “group effort”

Adelaide 36ers Head Coach Mike Wells has described his side’s seven-point Semi-Final win over South East Melbourne as a real team effort, despite a huge contribution from NBL MVP Bryce Cotton.

Cotton tallied his highest score ever against the Phoenix, finishing with 42 points – his second biggest score in a post-season game – along with three rebounds and five assists in a man of the match showing.

The intense, physical game was end-to-end from go-to-whoa, but the Sixers held on to win 104-97 in front of a record 10,055 crowd in the first ever playoff game at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

The Adelaide fans had been starved of a final at home since 2018 and it showed with the crowd in fine voice throughout.

For coach Wells, it was the way his side came out following 16 days between games that made him most proud.

“That was a real playoff game,” Wells said after the game.

“They were a really good team. The crowd was into it and I'm super proud of our guys with so many days off to be able to make plays and find a way to win.”

He was also full of praise for Cotton, saying as much as the league MVP was outstanding, the group all contributed.

“That's what great players do. He does it all the time,” Wells said of Cotton’s effort.

“We're fortunate that he's here playing in a blue uniform, and that's what great players do in these situations. That is why he's the MVP…

“He was outstanding, but we had a group effort.

“Their communication within the group, and during timeouts, even on the floor at free throws or those dead ball situations, guys were communicating. We were huddling.

“I thought we were organised, and there was guys on the same page.”

The Phoenix were spritely early, hitting the first six points of the contest before Cotton clicked into gear.

He piled on 14 of the next 23 points at 6/6 shooting to have the crowd absolutely buzzing, and his side in front by seven points.

The Phoenix responded with a ten-point run to take back the lead on the back of mounting fouls to the Sixers, and despite Cotton finishing with 16 points for the period, the visitors took a two-point advantage into the quarter time break.

In an at times spiteful second period the Sixers seemed to grab back the momentum, defending hard and continuing to score, though again found foul trouble.

Cotton kept making buckets, racing to 24 points for the half as the home side took back the lead by two points at the main break and the six-time MVP walked off the court uncharacteristically frustrated at a missed foul call that would have sent him to the line for three shots right on the buzzer.

Former Sixer Nathan Sobey tried to spark his side, finding his range from beyond the arc, but for everything he offered, Cotton had more. And with Zylan Cheatham nailing a huge reverse dunk to lift the crowd, the Sixers held their two-point advantage as the sides came out for the final period.

With Sobey battling, Nick Rakocevic made some huge plays, rebounding and scrapping defensively while finding important points at the other end to help his side build an advantage.

And with co-captain DJ Vasiljevic doing some smart things and making key intercepts, the Sixers held on for a huge seven point win to put themselves just one win away from a championship series.

For Wells the maturity down the stretch was another step for his group in the club’s quest for a first championship in 24 years.

“I think we have a bunch of guys that make plays, a bunch of guys that have been in big games,” he said.

“I rode those guys kind of down the stretch with Flynn (Cameron) being maybe the young guy in the group, but, there's a bunch of guys, you know, maybe that haven't played in a lot of playoff games, but have got a lot of NBL experience.

“We got a lot of guys with 100 to 150 games and I think that's important in this league.”

The sides meet again in Melbourne on Saturday evening from 5:00pm ACDT.