By Steve Barrett
The Brisbane Bullets have all but terminated Adelaide 36ers’ NBL finals hopes with a gripping 106-101 overtime victory at Nissan Arena.
Sixth man Tyler Johnson scored 23 of his game-high 27 points after halftime on Thursday, while veteran Jason Cadee posted 22 points despite enduring bouts of dizziness to put away his former side.
Tyler Johnson, keeping the ball in play against the Adelaide 36ers, scored a game-high 27 points for the Bullets.Credit:Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images
Johnson’s pull-up jumper with five seconds remaining in regulation put Brisbane up 91-89 before Antonius Cleveland equalised with a pair of free throws with 1.9 seconds on the clock, forcing the extension.
With 20 seconds left, the Sixers benefited from a contentious out-of-bounds call when Hyrum Harris clearly touched the ball last after Nathan Sobey stripped Robert Franks under Adelaide’s bucket.
Brisbane, up by two points, should have had possession, but instead Franks nailed a jumper to level the scores.
In overtime, Johnson and Cadee knocked down a succession of free throws to consign the eighth-ranked 36ers to their fourth straight defeat.
Anthony Drmic (20 points), Cleveland (18) and Franks (17) all tried valiantly for the 36ers (11-13), who will almost certainly endure another idle finals campaign.
“We’ve been Jekyll-and-Hyde all season,” Adelaide coach CJ Bruton lamented.
“I was proud of our fightback but it doesn’t change the result.
“We weren’t able to close the deal.”
Veteran Jason Cadee posted 22 points despite bouts of dizziness against his former side.
Credit:Getty images
Cadee, who scored 28 points in Monday’s drought-breaking win over South East Melbourne, raced out of the blocks with 14 first-term points, including nine during an 11-0 run.
Brisbane’s buffer blew out to 41-28 midway through the second quarter as Adelaide, without captain Mitch McCarron (family reasons), looked disorganised on offence and second-rate on defence.
But behind Cleveland’s stellar defence and Drmic’s perimeter shooting, the visitors unearthed a 12-2 third-quarter burst to steal the lead.
Up 70-66 inside the last 90 seconds of the third period, a technical foul on Harris for dissent saw Brisbane steal the momentum and – on Johnson’s last-second three – the lead.
The 36ers continued to chisel away but the Bullets, riding Johnson’s hot hand, displayed a relish for the spoiler role.
“We’ve obviously been on a rollercoaster this year but our leadership tonight was really good,” Brisbane caretaker coach Greg Vanderjagt said.
“When momentum was going against us, we were able to resolve, build together and dig ourselves out of holes, which was really pleasing.”
– AAP
