Sixers go sixth with another Sydney win

The Adelaide 36ers withstood a 24-point first half from Jaylen Adams and his 43 for the Sydney Kings with Kendric Davis brilliant again as they moved into sixth position with the 105-96 win.

The Sixers outscored the Kings 53-41 after half-time with Davis finishing with 30 points, six assists and five rebounds to lead his team to a second statement victory at Qudos Bank Arena for NBL25.

It had all the feelings of an early finals like match up with the Kings out to consolidate second spot, and the Sixers trying to break into the top six.

It was a spectacular point guard battle in the first half with Davis putting up 16 points and five assists helping Adelaide to an eight-point lead before Adams took over with 10 late points to give him 24 and the Kings were leading 55-52.

The Sixers then broke the game open with 14 straight points in the third quarter for the first double-figure lead and then the first six of the fourth had them still up 11.

DJ Vasiljevic (12 points) went 10/21 on Sunday in Cairns from deep, but didn’t make a triple until the fourth quarter. When he did he made two quickly to help lead 36ers to the nine-point win to move into sixth spot ahead of the Tasmania JackJumpers.

Adelaide finished with 60 points in the paint to 42 with Montrezl Harrell ending up with 23 points and 11 rebounds, Isaac Humphries 19 points, nine boards and four blocks, and Sunday Dech 13 points.

"We're finally healthy, finally getting together," Adelaide coach Mike Wells said.

"We're not a sixth seed; I think we can beat anybody, anywhere at this point.

"It started with this guy (Humphries) right here; he was absolutely phenomenal.

"And DJ contributed to this win in so many other ways. That's part of the growth of this team."

The Kings slip from second to fourth at 16-11 with just two games to go against teams above them, Perth and Illawarra.

Adams ended up bettering his career-high from the last game at home to Adelaide with 43 points on 16/28 shooting with 5/12 from deep with seven assists.

Bul Kuol only played 21 minutes before fouling out but had 12 points with Xavier Cooks adding 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists, and Cam Oliver nine points and 14 boards.

Kings coach Brian Goorjian said Sydney wouldn't dwell on the defeat as they continue a run to the finals fresh off beating South East Melbourne with Perth and Illawarra to come.

"We've played two of the toughest teams," he said.

"There are four teams that can win this thing, to me ... Melbourne too, but these four we're playing down the back stretch. We're going to make playoffs. On to the next one."

Adelaide started well in a building they played so well in on their last visit as they scored seven of the first nine points before continuing to lead right throughout the opening period despite a pair of Sydney triples from Bul Kuol, and one each from Kouat Noi and Jaylen Adams.

The Sixers closed out the opening period on an 11-1 run including back-to-back transition layups from Sunday Dech to see them on top 34-23.

Just as the 36ers appeared to be pulling away late in the first half with an and-one to Dech and three ball to Kendric Davis with him on the way to 16 points in the half, Adams took over.

In the last couple of minutes Adams knocked down 10 quick points including a couple of three balls, and another where his foot was on the line. When he hit one on half-time it was Sydney going into the break leading 55-52 and he had 24 points to his name.

It was the 36ers who came out and got things on their terms to start the second half and while also locking in defensively, they kept attacking the basket up the other end for an 14-0 run to open up a 10-point lead.

That was the first double-figure advantage of the game but the Kings were able to stem the tide and limit Adelaide's advantage to 78-73 by three quarter-time.

The 36ers scored the first four points of the last quarter forcing Brian Goorjian into a timeout after less than a minute.

Adelaide still scored first out of the timeout to lead again by 11 before DJ Vasiljevic his first triple on just a third attempt to make it a 12-point margin.

He hit another soon after on his old home floor, then completed a three-point play and the Sixers wouldn’t be headed from there closing out the nine-point win.

The Kings don't play again until next Sunday in a monster match up potentially for a top two finish against the Perth Wildcats. The 36ers have a quick turnaround to returning home to host the New Zealand Breakers on Sunday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2024/25

SYDNEY KINGS 96 (Adams 43, Cooks 12, Kuol 12)

ADELAIDE 36ERS 105 (Davis 30, Harrell 23, Humphries 19)

BOX SCORE