Sixers break drought through Davis, Harrell

Montrezl Harrell and Kendric Davis were back together for the first time since their NBL suspensions and lifted the Adelaide 36ers to a drought breaking 106-91 win against the hapless New Zealand Breakers.

Harrell and Davis combined for 57 points, 15 rebounds and 14 assists as the 36ers snapped a four-game losing run and handed the Breakers a sixth consecutive loss in the process.

New Zealand arrived at Adelaide Entertainment Centre having lost five straight games since the FIBA break when they made the decision to replace Freddie Gillespie with Tacko Fall by an average of 23 points.

The 36ers were also on a four-game losing streak but hadn’t played since the previous Sunday and the Breakers had a short turnaround following the 24-point loss in Auckland to Tasmania on Thursday.

The Sixers knocked down seven three-pointers in the second quarter alone to be leading by 13 points early in the third quarter, but then Parker Jackson-Cartwright hit 11 quick points for New Zealand.

It was just a two-point game by the end of three but Adelaide dominated the fourth quarter with 30 points to 15 to win by 14 and improve to 7-8.

Davis was playing his first game back from suspension and delivered 36 points, nine assists and five rebounds on 10/16 shooting overall, 5/9 from downtown and 11/13 from the foul line.

"It was super tough watching the guys go out there and struggle. I kind of felt like I let the team down with my emotions a bit. I was at home feeling bad," he said.

"As long as we get the win, I get to sleep at night, because when we lost last game I could care less about the 37, I was just mad we gave that game away.

"I don't do well after losses. I can't sleep, I'm just up thinking, so I'm glad we got the win."

Harrell's return saw him put up 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists too with Jarell Martin contributing 16 points and four boards, Isaac Humphries 10 points and five rebounds, and Nick Marshall nine points and four assists.

It's another tough loss for the Breakers with Jackson-Cartwright producing 25 points and eight assists with 5/11 three-point shooting.

Matt Mooney added 19 points, three rebounds and three assists, Karim Lopez 12 points and six rebounds, and Tacko Fall nine points and nine boards in 24 minutes.

"We need some pride, some individual pride to get some stops," Breakers coach Petteri Koponen said.

"Some of it is because there are some new things, so no repetitions, we still don't have those habits. But some of this is also individual, me against you.

"This we need to get better and fix, otherwise it's going to be a long season."

It didn’t take Montrezl Harrell long to score first on his return from suspension for Adelaide and then fellow big man Isaac Humphries scored six quick points, and when Jacob Rigoni hit a three, the home team was up 16-11.

New Zealand responded well and three-pointers to Mojave King and Sean Bairstow helped them draw level at 22-22 with the Sixers by the end of one.

Kendric Davis and Nick Marshall then hit two three balls apiece in the early stages of the second quarter to help the 36ers open up a double-figure lead, and then that got out to as much 12 when Davis nailed along from behind the arc.

The Breakers again answered and Next Star Karim Lopez led the charge with some nice finishes at the rim and two and-one plays, but still the 36ers were leading 58-49 at the break with Davis and Harrell combining for 28 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

Things then threatened to get away from the Breakers just as they have in recent third quarters when Davis and Harrell scored each to extend the Adelaide lead to 13 once more.

This time it was Parker Jackson-Cartwright who inspired the New Zealand fightback with 11 points in no time including three makes from long-range.

When Matt Mooney joined in the margin was back to four and Lopez was continuing to have exciting moments with a big block from behind on Harrell up one end and another big flush up the other.

It was then just a two-point ball game in favour of the Sixers at three quarter-time and Harrell completed a three-point play early in the fourth to put his team back up seven.

By the time Davis hit another three with four minutes to play, Adelaide was up 13 and the home crowd was rocking and they ended up celebrating the 17-point win.

The 36ers now have another full week in between games before being away to the South East Melbourne Phoenix next Saturday while the Breakers finally return to Spark Arena for the first time since November 2 to host the Sydney Kings on Friday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2024/25

ADELAIDE 36ERS 111 (Davis 36, Harrell 21, Martin 16)

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 94 (Jackson-Cartwright 25, Mooney 19, Lopez 12)

BOX SCORE