Wells: “We found a way” against rebounding Hawks

Adelaide 36ers coach Mike Wells says having five players hit double figures and some key plays down the stretch were the keys to getting past a rebounding Illawarra Hawks outfit.

The reigning NBL Champions were expected to respond to Friday night’s record 42-point loss at home to New Zealand and pushed the Sixers to the final seconds, with Davo Hickey missing two free throws to push the game to overtime.

Having seen his side go down by one point in similar circumstances last week, Wells was just happy to be on the right side of the ledger this time.

“We won, so that’s all that matters,” he smiled.

“It doesn't matter at the end of the day that about all the other things, right? We got the W.

“Obviously, they had a hell of a response to their last game. You knew that they were gonna play better, they were gonna fight and I thought that for us, you know, I always talk about, I think sometimes the longer breaks in between games are a little tougher.

“You kind of lose a game rhythm a little bit. It would have been good for us to get back on the court a little bit sooner, but you know, we found a way.

“We did a lot of really good things. They were really, really good in a lot of areas… and you know, as much as the last one stung you found a way to get the win and close the game.”

For the first time this season the Sixers had five players reach double figures for points scored with star Bryce Cotton leading with 24 points to go with three rebounds and nine assists. His assists were pivotal, bringing guys like Isaac Humphries (12 points, seven rebounds), Flynn Cameron (12 points, four rebounds, two assists) and DJ Vasiljevic (16 points, three rebounds, three assists) into the game.

And there was a huge moment in the last quarter when exciting import Zylan Cheatham pulled down three rebounds in quick succession and Vasiljevic hit a vital three pointer to give the side some breathing space with the Hawks coming hard.

“Z off three offensive rebounds in that possession late with DJ making the kickout three was probably the difference in the game, right,” Wells said.

“We did hold them to six offensive rebounds for the game. That's a huge deal with JaVale (McGee) and their length and physicality.

“We won the rebounding deal, you know, and we had 14 offensive rebounds, and I think 14 made threes, and that's the difference.”

He was also pleased to have such an even spread of scorers after recent commentary around the lack of firepower in the Sixers’ roster and claims of too much reliance on Cotton.

“Today was the first time we probably had five guys in double figures, and that was a key to the game for us,” Wells said.

“More guys had an offensive rhythm. That ball moved and Bryce's the first guy to say in the timeouts ‘I don't care about scoring. Get to the spacing, they'll double team me and I'll find you’.

"And we saw some of that, you know, he could score when he needs to, and us getting Z and DJ back into the offence and getting guys in double figures is huge for us.”

It was a strange opening with the Sixers having eight free throw attempts in the first period, compared with 11 for the entirety of the game in Melbourne last Sunday.

And while the Hawks went on a 7-0 run straight out of half time to take the lead and quieten the boisterous Adelaide crowd, the Sixers were able to swing the momentum thanks to a couple of big threes to Flynn Cameron and Cotton, and a dunk by Zylan Cheatham that got the crowd on its feet.

Cheatham and Humphries controlled the boards, even against former NBA champion JaVale McGee as the Sixers held on late to make it a 6-2 record for the season so far.

Wells said he was proud of the way his side managed to stop the seven-foot big, giving props to his own talls including Nick Rakocevic.

“He's big, right,” Wells said of McGee. “Like he's an NBA centre with his size, and he's playing here in the NBL now.

“Giants do walk on the earth, he's that big, and you're trying to just get him out of his spots and really make things tough for him and you know, try to keep him off the glass.”

The win was the Sixers’ seventh victory in a row over the Hawks including the pre-season Blitz with the visitors last tasting victory in the fixture back in December 2023 at WIN Entertainment Centre.

The 36ers were celebrating Indigenous Round, wearing a specially designed jersey with game entertainment celebrating Indigenous culture and the contribution of First Nations players and coaches to the game of basketball.

The Sixers are next off to New Zealand to face the Breakers on Thursday night before returning home to host Perth on Sunday.