Sixers star buries Breakers in late blitz

The New Zealand Breakers delivered a strong second half fight back in their home return but the Adelaide 36ers had Bryce Cotton and he had 13 fourth-quarter points to lead his team to the 108-101 win.

The Breakers were back at Spark Arena for the first time since September 30 after five straight matches in Australia while the Sixers hadn’t played either since Saturday night's road loss to the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

It was a fourth straight road game for the 36ers and they built a 13-point first half lead, but the Breakers fired back in the third term and were within two by three quarter-time thanks to a buzzer-beater from Carlin Davison.

Former Sixer DJ Vasiljevic then put New Zealand in front early in the fourth, but ultimately it was Cotton who was the difference.

He hit back-to-back threes to put the 36ers back up six and then they completed the seven-point win after Keanu Rasmussen knocked down the dagger three.

Adelaide are now 5-5 with the win with Cotton showing the way with 31 points and six assists on 10/18 shooting from the field, 4/10 from deep and 7/7 at the foul line.

Nick Rakocevic also delivered 17 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, Zylan Cheatham 17 points and seven boards, and the big difference was John Jenkins III stepping up for 21 points on 4/10 shooting from the outside.

New Zealand slips to 4-6 in their first home loss of the season with Sam Mennenga knocking down 6/9 from the outside for 28 points with five rebounds and three assists.

Carlin Davison also delivered 16 points, 11 assists, five rebounds and three steals, Charles Bediako 16 points, five blocks and five rebounds, and DJ Vasiljevic 15 points.

But Parker Jackson-Cartwright found the going tough largely thanks to Matt Kenyon finishing with nine points and six assists on 4/11 shooting.

The Breakers made their long-awaited return for a first home game of October but the Sixers were the more efficient of the teams in the first quarter for them to be leading 28-24 after one.

Bryce Cotton was already up to 10 points and four assists for the visitors while they were shooting 11/18 as a team while the Breakers were going at just 10/23 with Sam Mennenga top-scoring with seven points.

Adelaide took further control in the second quarter opening up a lead as much as 13 shortly before half-time and going into the locker room they were still on top 56-44.

Cotton added another four points and an assist, but John Jenkins III was warming up with 11 points for the half while Nick Rakocevic had nine points and seven rebounds.

His presence was important in Adelaide having 11 offensive rebounds along with getting to the foul line eight extra times to half-time.

But the Breakers came out a different looking outfit in the third quarter sparked by Carlin Davison. Then when he closed out the term with a shot on the buzzer, Adelaide's lead was all the way back to 74-72.

New Zealand put up 28 points in the quarter on 12/19 shooting to set up a big finish, and the Breakers kept the momentum going to go in front with DJ Vasiljevic putting together the opening three points of the last period.

It was the score for score for almost five minutes before Cotton stepped up with back-to-back three balls for the 36ers to be leading by six with three minutes to play again.

The Breakers wouldn’t go away and were back within three with 1:14 to play after a great hustle from Charles Bediako diving on the floor helped the turnover get to Parker Jackson-Cartwright leading to another finish at the rim from Davison.

Out of a timeout, Keanu Rasmussen hit a huge three for Adelaide to put them back up six and from there they secured the seven-point road win.

Both teams have quick turnarounds with the 36ers returning home for a first game at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre since October 7 when they host the Brisbane Bullets on Sunday.

The Breakers will then be back on the road on Monday to take on United in Melbourne on Melbourne Cup Eve.

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 101 – ADELAIDE 36ERS 108

NZ Breakers
Sam Mennenga – 28 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
Carlin Davison – 16 points, 11 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals
Charles Bediako – 16 points, 5 blocks, 5 rebounds
DJ Vasiljevic 15 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds
Parker Jackson-Cartwright – 9 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds

Adelaide 36ers
Bryce Cotton – 31 points, 6 assists, 10/18 FG
John Jenkins III – 21 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds
Nick Rakocevic – 17 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists
Zylan Cheatham – 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists
Keanu Rasmussen – 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists