Wells pleased with hard-fought road win over Breakers

He described it as an “ugly win” but Adelaide 36ers Head Coach Mike Wells was pleased with the way his side scrapped its way to victory over New Zealand on Thursday night.

Bryce Cotton top scored with 23 points and had five assists to go with two important steals as the Sixers held off a late surge by the Breakers to win 83-79 at Wolfbrook Arena in Christchurch – their first win at the venue in three attempts.

The Sixers went into the game having won three of their last four games against New Zealand but knowing that the home team had won each of the last five meetings between the sides.

And while the game had significant momentum swings throughout, it was the Sixers who came out on top, pleasing Wells.

“I thought that was a really, really hard fought NBL game,” he said.

“On the road, you've got to kind of bite and scrap and do a whole bunch of things, and sometimes it's not perfect and it's not pretty, but we got the win.

“We gave up 33 points in the second quarter, and they scored 32 for the whole second half. That's winning stuff. That's what we've been preaching about.

“I thought our transition defence was outstanding, particularly in the fourth (and) I thought that we had some really good efforts and big games from a lot of different guys.

“Of course, we want to clean it up a little bit at the end so it could be a little bit easier, but, you know, you give them credit, they fought, they scrapped, they fought, and we hung in there, and we got to win.”

Wells was particularly pleased with the contribution of guys like Isaac White and Nick Rakocevic off the bench, who contributed 21 points between them – the most by Adelaide’s bench this season.

Wells praised White for his efforts guarding the fleet-footed Parker Jackson-Cartwright.

“Isaac White was just a huge force on PJC and his energy and his toughness, and his commitment to what we're trying to do was just, you know, elite,” Wells explained.

“Nick (Rakocevic) had a hell of a first half… and then, you know, the minutes that Matt Kenyon, Michael Harris, you know, everybody sort of pinched in, and that's what led to so much bench scoring, but it really was a team effort tonight… and that's what you need on the road.”

Bryce Cotton was kept uncharacteristically scoreless in the first period, going 0/4 from the field but Rakocevic came off the bench to pick up the scoring slack.

The Serbian American import said before the game that he was craving more responsibility after settling into his time in Adelaide over the last month and he showed the coach he was capable with nine points (and two rebounds) in the first quarter, eclipsing his previous season-high in just one period.

The Sixers held the Breakers to their lowest first quarter score of just 14 points and had an eight-point lead at the first break, but the home side fought back and after having its highest scoring second quarter was back in front by four points at the main change.

Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Izaiah Brockington were doing most of the damage for the Breakers while the dangerous Sam Menenga had been well held to that point with just four points.

Cotton got himself into the game and had 11 points and three assists in the quarter but the Sixers had some work to do in the second half.

The third period was a high-intensity end-to-end affair with Zylan Cheatham getting involved in his first game against his old side.

And when the Sixers went on a 9-0 run to start the last, holding the Breakers scoreless for nearly six minutes, they were well placed without ever feeling comfortable.

After missing their first 14 shots of the final period, the Breakers came back hard, closing to within two points in the final minute before some big plays by Isaac White and Cheatham.

It wasn’t a pretty finish but it mattered little as Adelaide improved to 7-2 for the season with a home game against Perth to come this round on Sunday.

All eyes will be on how Cotton fares against the side he won three championships and five league MVPs with.

“We can't really speak for him,” Wells said. “He's a true professional. He does his routine, he's ready to compete.

“I'm sure there'll be a little extra as we all go against our old teams but for us on Sunday at 2 o'clock, it's really about continuing our momentum and growing, just trying to play winning basketball.”

Sunday’s game gets underway at 2:00pm ACDT.