“We’ve got to play to win”: Cheatham shines as Sixers hold on

Zylan Cheatham continued his fine form scoring 20 points and adding 12 rebounds in the Sixers’ 101-93 win against Melbourne United on Thursday night, and the big forward says he took it personally how Jacob Chance’s side guarded him in the last meeting.

Coming off a huge 21-point triple-double last Saturday night against the Illawarra Hawks, it seems Cheatham has found his stride after an up and down start to the season.

Though the Sixers led by as much as 34 during the night, United fought back in the second half, cutting the lead down to just four in the final quarter.

Though Cheatham credits Head Coach Trevor Gleeson with helping the Sixers stick to their identity throughout the night, he also acknowledges the side stagnated in the second half.

“One of my messages at half time was we can't play to not lose, we’ve got to play to win,” he said.

“I feel like when you get those leads, you start playing slower. You're playing a little bit more timid, you're not really executing your offence to try to score.

“As much as we have to be better, we also have to give credit to the league. Like these are elite basketball players. That team is very elite. So, we knew they were going to go on a run at some point.

“We knew they weren't going to go down that easy. I think the main thing, like Trevor said in our post-game, we’ve got to stay with our identity no matter, if we're up 20 or down 20.”

Speaking on some highlight plays throughout the night, including a couple of alley oops he was involved in, Cheatham said he liked to get the crowd involved.

“They (the crowd) love when we play hard and we love when we execute and do things,” Cheatham said

“For us, it's very rewarding to prepare in a certain way and talk about certain things you want to do on the floor and then come out and execute them.”

Cheatham, who was held to just eight points last time the sides met, said United’s defence had put him in a “stagnant stance” on that occasion, and he aimed to “make them pay” for allowing him to shoot this time out.

“Watching the game that I played against them last time and how they guarded me and how they just completely disregarded me on the perimeter, that is something I've seen and I took personal. It put me in a stagnant stance,” Cheatham said.

“I didn't really put my hands on the game, and that's something that personally I came out and I knew I wanted to make them pay for not trying to guard me.”

Widely regarded for his energy around the team, the Arizona native was asked how he keeps his morale high even through the ups and downs of the season.

Cheatham credited Brock Birmingham, a ten-year-old child who had his leg amputated due to fibular hemimelia. Cheatham befriended Birmingham when the young 36ers fan met the team earlier in the season, and Adelaide's number 45 sees him as a personal inspiration.

“I've kind of been in the mindset of just thinking about what would seventh grade Z say in this situation?” Cheatham said about his mentally playing the sport he loves.

“Credit to my guy Brock (Birmingham), man. He keeps me going mentally, for sure.

“I mean, just honouring the game, just trying to have fun, trying to leave it all out there every time I step on the floor.”

The Sixers head to Wollongong next to play the Illawarra Hawks at WIN Entertainment Centre next Thursday.

The game tips off at 7:00pm ACDT and you can watch it live on ESPN via Kayo or Disney+.

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