Building JackJumpers end Adelaide streak

Sean Macdonald showed his quality and poise when it mattered and Will Magnay was a strong physical force as the Tasmania JackJumpers made it three straight NBL wins beating the Adelaide 36ers 77-73 on the road.

The Sixers were playing their first game without suspended import superstars Kendric Davis and Montrezl Harrell but were back at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre having won 10 straight at home dating back to last season.

Another full house of 9428 were on hand to try and lift their team without the 41.1 points, 12.6 rebounds and 8.4 assists that Harrell and Davis have been providing so far in NBL25.

The JackJumpers also arrived without the 14.4 points and 4.0 assists from point guard Jordon Crawford, but came away with the four-point victory to hand the 36ers first loss at home since December 28 last year.

Despite Tasmania opening up a 13-point fourth quarter lead, Adelaide were back within a point with a minute to play following a dunk from Isaac Humphries (19 points, 11 rebounds, three steals, two assists).

However, Macdonald sealed the deal with a quality floater shortly after and the JackJumpers won by four to have now won three straight on the season to improve to a 6-8 record.

Macdonald finished with 15 points and five assists in just his second game of the season while Magnay was imposing ending up with 15 points, five rebounds and three blocks on a perfect 7/7 shooting.

Anthony Drmic celebrated his 250th NBL game back on his old home floor with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists also for Tasmania with Milton Doyle contributing nine points and seven boards, and Majok Deng nine points in the final quarter.

"That last five minutes was a little bit like high-school basketball for us, but our guys were resilient," JackJumpers Scott Roth said.

"Our defence was solid and we had enough guys chip in to get us across the line."

The Sixers are now 6-6 through the first 10 rounds of NBL25 after a tough shooting night going 36 per cent from the field and 5/31 from downtown.

Captain DJ Vasiljevic emphasised that going 5/22 from the floor and 1/12 from deep for 16 points while Keanu Rasmussen had a career night with nine points and four assists in 22:33 of court time.

"I couldn't be more proud of a bunch of effort from a lot of guys," 36ers coach Mike Wells said.

"I thought our bench guys' minutes were extraordinary. I'm just really proud of the group."

There was always going to be a feeling out process for both teams with Adelaide without Montrezl Harrell and Kendric Davis, and the JackJumpers missing Jordon Crawford.

Clint Steindl and Milton Doyle hit quick threes to start the game for Tasmania before Will Magnay pushed them out to the 12-4 lead, but then the 36ers got to work on their home floor.

Keanu Rasmussen, Nick Marshall and Ben Griscti all gave Adelaide a spark, but still the JackJumpers maintained their advantage to lead 29-23 by quarter-time thanks to the last six points from 250-gamer Anthony Drmic.

Marshall hit a three to give Adelaide a strong start to the second frame before Rasmussen also drained a three ball midway through the quarter, and then DJ Vasiljevic tied scores up.

The 36ers couldn’t quite break into the lead with the JackJumpers clinging to the 43-42 advantage by half-time before the visitors shot out of the blocks to start the second half with the first six points.

Fabijan Krslovic then landed a three just before three quarter-time with Tasmania having 17 points to 11 in the quarter to end the period leading 60-53.

The defending champs built on that lead in the opening minutes of the final quarter too with back-to-back three balls from Majok Deng pushing the lead out to a game-high 13 points before the JackJumpers ended up scoring the four-point win.

The Sixers now head to Brisbane to play the Bullets on Friday night in the last game before Davis returns from suspension while the JackJumpers will be back home on Thursday to play host to the Cairns Taipans.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2024/25

ADELAIDE 36ERS 73 (Humphries 19, Vasiljevic 16, Rasmussen 9)

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 77 (Macdonald 15, Magnay 15, Drmic 14)

BOX SCORE