Adelaide Loss "Not the Way You Play Basketball"

Adelaide head coach CJ Bruton has blamed the mindset of his side in the final quarter for their loss to Cairns on Saturday, claiming “we were playing not to lose”.

The Taipans came back from 18 points down in the final term to record a memorable victory. 

That comeback equals the record for the largest fourth quarter comeback in the history of the NBL, with Cairns going on two 16-0 scoring runs in the game to keep touch with the 36ers - first in the second quarter and then in the fourth.

Shannon Scott and Tahjere McCall stepped up to bear the brunt of the scoring load left by the injured Keanu Pinder to finish with 50 of the team’s 86 points between them, while DJ Hogg proved to be the match-winner down the stretch.

“You saw it. You can watch it back over and over again if you want. We played not to lose and that’s not the way you play the game of basketball,” Bruton reflected post-game.

“You always play a game to win, but we did have a patch there from eight minutes to two minutes [left in the game] where we were playing not to lose which is unfortunate, especially when you lead for 27 minutes.

“I’m not happy with how our team played out, but you’re going to lose games, win games, and steal games, and you have to find ways to keep battling and keep your heads up.

“We’re in a dogfight. Every team is. When you let stuff like this slip you have to regroup and come back with the mindset that you don’t have long to turn it around.”

It was a bitter blow for the 36ers, who could have consolidated a spot in the top five with a win, but ultimately fall back into the mix in seventh place. 

They now face a must-win home double against Illawarra and New Zealand this week. 

Saturday night's was played in front of a sellout crowd at the Cairns Convention Centre, as 4,851 people packed the arena – largely in support of the home side.

In good news for the 36ers, Ian Clark took to the floor for just the second time since signing with the team in in late December, and he once again reprised his role from the bench.

In 19 minutes of play, Clark scored 15 points on 50 per cent shooting, including a clutch three in the final minutes of the game, but was oddly absent from proceedings for a large part of Cairns’ final quarter surge.

He says his teammates can’t let the nature of the loss limit their momentum for the rest of the season.

“It’s tough, but we can’t hang our heads,” Clark said. “We have to find ways to make sure we finish games the right way.

“Obviously this one hurt because we were on a roll, and I felt personally we were gaining ground and building blocks to become the team that can put teams away.

“But they (the Taipans) came back tonight, and credit to them. They kept fighting and they won the game.”

Adelaide next takes to the floor on Friday, January 6 against the Illawarra Hawks.