Round 3 Recap: SuperCoach NBL Classic

New Zealand Breakers point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright ($405,200) grabbed SuperCoach NBL by the scruff of the neck in Round 3. He piled up 116 points in the Breakers' two wins to open a 70-point lead at the top of the season standings heading into Round 4.

Jackson-Cartwright had 27 points and 10 assists in both games. That was worth 49 SuperCoach points in the 98-75 win against the Cairns Taipans on Wednesday and 67 in the 88-72 win against the Adelaide 36ers on Sunday. That 67 is the biggest single-game score of NBL27, three better than the 64 Bryce Cotton ($473,900) posted in Round 2. Coaches who handed Jackson-Cartwright the C banked 232 for the round.

Tasmania JackJumpers centre Will Magnay ($269,300) was the only other player to crack 100, posting 101 in wins against Melbourne United and the Brisbane Bullets. His 59 in Saturday's 109-99 overtime win in Brisbane came from 22 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four blocks. His Round 3 haul is bigger than his first two rounds combined.

Adelaide big man Nick Rakocevic ($188,400) keeps making the most of Isaac Humphries ($265,300) being sidelined with a knee injury. Rakocevic is now second overall on 197. He scored 96 in Adelaide's two losses, including 65 against the Breakers off 29 points and 16 rebounds on 14-from-22 shooting.

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Cotton came back to earth after his 94 in Round 2, managing just 45 from Adelaide's double. That was brutal for SuperCoaches who stuck the armband on the game's most expensive player.

The six-time MVP made all 11 of his free throws for 24 points in the 114-92 loss to Illawarra and added 21 against New Zealand. He now sits third overall on 181.

The round also reminded everyone what SuperCoach NBL actually rewards.

Melbourne United guard Cole Anthony ($300,000) scored 40 points in the loss to Cairns on Saturday but collected only 44 SuperCoach points for it, because he added just four rebounds and one assist. Ooft.

A day later, Illawarra Hawks guard Milton Doyle ($274,700) scored 14 points against the South East Melbourne Phoenix and turned them into 46 SuperCoach points. He got there on the back of 11 assists, three steals and a double-double bonus.

Double-headers ruled again. Eight of the 10 clubs played twice in Round 3, and every player in the top 15 came from those eight. The Perth Wildcats and Sydney Kings played once each. The best return from either club was the 44 Kristian Doolittle ($317,500) posted in Perth's 92-88 win against the Phoenix, two more than Kings star Kendric Davis ($436,000) piled up against Brisbane.

At the cheap end, Tasmania guard Dakota Mathias ($145,200) was the lowest-priced player in the Round 3 top 15, scoring 57 across the JackJumpers' two games. Phoenix Next Star Dash Daniels ($115,000) missed the top 15 by a single point with 56, including 34 against Illawarra, and his price is already on the move.

Jackson-Cartwright has also taken the best average in the game from Bullets guard Arnas Velicka ($277,000). Jackson-Cartwright is averaging 53.4 points a game to Velicka's 43.0, with Davis (44.7) and Magnay (43.2) in between.

Velicka couldn't throw it in the ocean against the JackJumpers. He went 2-from-14 from the field, including 1-from-11 from three. His 13 assists and five rebounds were some respite for SuperCoaches who put the C on the Lithuanian import (me included).

Below are the top 15 scores from Round 3 and the top 25 overall scorers after three rounds.

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