Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
The Adelaide 36ers rode a fast start to return to the NBL winners’ circle with a clinical 83-69 victory over the Cairns Taipans.
Bryce Cotton scored 25 points and Nick Rakocevic paired 21 points with 12 boards at a sold-out Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Sunday.
Former 36er Jack McVeigh posted 21 points for Cairns, while teammate Malique Lewis racked up an all-time franchise record seven blocks.
The Taipans held a brief early lead before Rakocevic and Cotton paced a 14-0 swing for the Sixers, which turned the momentum for good.
“I don’t think we played well in Perth (one-point loss to the Wildcats last Thursday) and we put a stamp on the game nice and early,” Sixers coach Trevor Gleeson said.
“We pressed, we forced turnovers, we rotated pretty well, and weathered the storm a couple of times.”
Cairns coach Adam Forde was forced to burn two early time-outs as the Snakes were described as “a mess” by NBL great Derek Rucker on commentary for Kayo.
Defence, rebounding, turnovers and perimeter shooting were all problems for the Taipans, who fell behind 32-17 at quarter-time.
Rakocevic hit his first seven shots and continued to torch ex-36er Keanu Pinder, stretching Adelaide’s advantage to 52-34 at halftime.
The Sixers briefly went off the boil as McVeigh trimmed the margin to 62-51, before a flagrant foul against veteran Cairns niggler Shaun Bruce for dropping his shoulder into Zylan Cheatham sparked the home side again.
Adelaide were in front 67-51 at three-quarter-time, before the margin ballooned to 83-62 when Matt Kenyon’s steal and behind-the-back pass found Cheatham for a breakaway dunk.
“We didn’t do a good job in the first quarter defensively,” Forde said.
“We started dropping our heads a little bit, and that’s what we want to avoid.”
