NBL: Jerome Randle and Nathan Sobey star for Adelaide 36ers in 83-67 win over Cairns Taipans
THERE was an extraordinary party atmosphere on Friday night as the Adelaide 36ers brushed aside Cairns Taipans for a comfortable 83-67 NBL win.
Whether there was a feeling of unity after a bomb threat saw the venue evacuated - but the game only delayed 15 minutes - or the celebration of Adelaide’s 1986 championship team’s 30th anniversary, the near-capacity crowd was boisterous and loud throughout.
They had plenty to cheer about too as the Sixers played some of the most exceptional defence of the Joey Wright era, keeping Cairns to 67 points at 35 per cent.
The Taipans came into the game as the NBL’s worst three-point shooting team at 26.8 per cent but lived - and died - by the perimeter in the second half.
Jerome Randle (23 points, eight assists) had the 36ers rolling with consecutive great assists, one a superb boucne pass for a Nathan Sobey fast-break dunk.
Then he fed Daniel Johnson (13 points, 10 rebounds) for a jumpshot and with 8:08 in the third period, Adelaide led 54-34.
That’s when the bizarre three-point clinic began, Alex Loughton draining one, Cam Gliddon adding a second, then Travis Trice sticking two in a row, the time 6:23, the score 46-54.
The 36ers steadied with six straight points before Stephen Weigh nailed a three, and Mark Worthington another.
The Taipans hit 6-of-10 for the period and only had one other basket.
Adelaide effectively took away the Taipans’ interior game, Sobey, Terrance Ferguson, Brendan Teys, Randle, Anthony Drmic and Eric Jacobsen harassing, or pressing Cairns up the floor.
“Our goal was to take as much time off the clock in the backcourt as possible,” Wright said.
“And we also wanted to stay between them and the basket.
“They run a lot of good plays, backdoor cuts and the like and we wanted to take that away.”
Mission accomplished.
Roared on by a crowd which identified Worthington as the villain after clashes with Ferguson and a hard foul on Jacobsen, Adelaide was scintillating at times.
Randle, in his 28th game, scored at least 20 points for the 20th time but his lob for Sobey to run the baseline and throw down a late-game slam dunk was mesmerising.
In the third quarter, Sobey passed to Ferguson who passed it on to Johnson who made the extra pass for a Matt Hodgson dunk. It was copybook stuff.
“Sobey was outstanding, Randle was outstanding and Hodgey was great tonight,” Wright said.
No-one would argue.
ADELAIDE 36ERS 83 (Randle 23, Sobey 15, Johnson 13) d CAIRNS TAIPANS 67 (Gliddon 14, Trice, Worthington, Loughton 11).
Originally published as Defence key as 36ers lock Taipans in basket
