Robo, DJ Lead Sixers Over Hawks

The frontcourt pairing of Daniel Johnson and Robert Franks fired for the first real time in NBL23 for the Adelaide 36ers and the end result was an important 96-80 road victory against the Illawarra Hawks on Thursday night.

Both teams came into the opening clash of Round 6 needing a win with the Hawks on a six-game losing skid while Adelaide has also lost two straight including by 29 points at home last week to New Zealand.

It was the 36ers that started strongly at WIN Entertainment Centre despite the absence of superstar point guard Craig Randall and it was all on the back of getting the most of the potentially dominant frontcourt pairing of Johnson and Franks.

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They combined for 25 points in the first half with Adelaide leading by as much as 15 points, but the Hawks kept fighting and got back within two in the third quarter with their guard duo of Tyler Harvey and Peyton Siva having good nights.

However, the Sixers wouldn’t be denied and an 18-5 run during the fourth quarter put the game to bed and they ended up winning by 16 to steady to 3-3 while the Hawks are now 1-8.

It was an outstanding showing up front by Franks (25 points, six rebounds, four assists) and Johnson (28 points, seven boards, four assists) for Adelaide with the pair combining for 53 points on 22/29 shooting.

Anthony Drmic also had his best performance of the season for the 36ers with 16 points with Sunday Dech adding 11 points and five rebounds, and Mitch McCarron 10 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.

Adelaide coach CJ Bruton saw some improved signs from his team but still sees plenty to improve upon moving forward.

"Every game's important and early in the season you want to get off to a flying start, and we're working through some stuff and I feel like from last week to where we are now we are still progressing," Bruton said.

"How we shared the ball and played defence tonight was good. We got into our second and third actions by moving the ball, and we needed to do that. 

"That gave us opportunities to score even though our turnover count is still high. That's sad and we need to continue to get better in that area as we move forward."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">He&#39;s mastered the no look pass, now Mitch McCarron is looking to break some ankles ?<br><br>He gets the friendly bounce after putting the defence on SKATES ??<br><br>Catch the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> action live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel. <a href="https://t.co/NrlJf9GZz9">pic.twitter.com/NrlJf9GZz9</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1588096729706004480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Tyler Harvey top-scored for the Hawks with 25 points with four three-pointers with Peyton Siva delivering 11 points and 10 assists. Wani Swaka Lo Buluk added 12 points and Mangok Mathiang 10 to go with seven rebounds and two blocks.

Hawks coach Jacob Jackomas was disappointed that his team didn’t come out better and were playing catch up from the outset.

"We didn’t start well and we spoke about that, and can't really pinpoint what's going on with the group right now," Jackomas said.

"We looked good all week and everyone was in pretty good spirits, but then we got out to the game and we were just really bad at the beginning of the game. 

"The first two possessions set the tempo and we're not there yet where we can climb it again. It was a valiant effort in the third but playing that sort of style means you have to do something a little more to get over the hump when you get in such a big hole."

Tyler Harvey did his best to spark the Hawks offensively early but up the other end the Hawks had no answer for the Adelaide front court. Daniel Johnson hit two triples, Robert Franks finished a three-point play and then Anthony Drmic connected from deep to make it 12-6.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@illawarrahawks</a> guard combo is riding that same wavelength ?<br><br>Tyler Harvey&#39;s already hit two gorgeous floaters ?<br><br>Catch the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> action live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel. <a href="https://t.co/OMl4T3PDIY">pic.twitter.com/OMl4T3PDIY</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1588089054632894464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Another 10-0 run for the Sixers saw the game break wide open when it was capped off by a triple from Franks.

The Sixers went into quarter-time up eight on the back 15 combined points from Franks and Johnson before another seven straight points to start the second quarter. It began with a Sunday Dech three before buckets to Johnson and Franks pushed the lead out to 15.

The Hawks were able to stem the tide the rest of the half with Peyton Siva doing well running the show but shooting 36 per cent from the field and going 3/15 from deep meant the Sixers maintained a 49-37 lead by half-time with Franks and Johnson combining for 25 of those 49 points.

The signs weren’t great to start the second for Illawarra with three more quick buckets for Franks to keep the lead beyond double-figures, but slowly but surely the Hawks worked back into the contest.

Siva was central to everything setting up his teammates and even draining a three-pointer himself as the Hawks made it a two-point ball game.

Even though the 36ers had pushed it back out to seven by three quarter-time, the Hawks had a sniff and then the early stages of the fourth term became a three-point barrage.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Hawks are coming - they&#39;re on an 18-8 run in the third quarter, and Peyton Siva is hitting DAGGERS ??<br><br>Catch the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> action live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel. <a href="https://t.co/IGN1qbctGM">pic.twitter.com/IGN1qbctGM</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1588105039708450819?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Harvey hit three straight for Illawarra including one that became a four-point play, but they couldn't stop the 36ers up the other end and then Drmic hit a couple from deep, and Johnson and Dech added another, the game was done.

The 36ers cruised to the 16-point win to give them confidence into returning home to host their arch-rival Perth Wildcats on Saturday night.

The Hawks now don't play again in Round 6 and with the FIBA window next week, their next game isn’t until Sunday November 20 against the Sydney Kings at Qudos Bank Arena.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 6

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 80 (Harvey 25, Swaka Lo Buluk 12, Siva 11)

ADELAIDE 36ERS 96 (Johnson 28, Franks 25, Drmic 16) 

BOX SCORE