NBL, round 2: 36ers’ Bryce Cotton era opens with a bang in win over Brisbane Bullets

Cotton was at his trademark best in his first league outing for Adelaide since switching from Perth in the off-season, registering 39 points, 6/9 from three-point range and six assists to leave a fighting Brisbane Bullets with no answers at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

The Sixers jumped out to steady eight and nine points leads in the first half before Cotton’s fifth three-pointer late in the third finally lifted the home side to their first double-digit advantage of the game.

The Bullets, without Javon Freeman-Liberty, fought back and made it a five-point game with 90 seconds left but a clutch Cotton drew a foul to knock down two free throws as the Sixers held on to win 87-80.

Alongside the five-time NBL champion, Zylan Cheatham stood up with 14 boards, eight points, five assists and three steals, while Isaac Humphries was influential with 13 points and six rebounds.

It was the Sixers’ first win in a season opener since 2015 and a result which breaks a four-game losing streak against the Bullets.

Bullets captain Tyrell Harrison added to his NBA credentials with 17 points, 12 rebounds and three assists and steals. Casey Prather had a team-high 20 points and six assists while Alex Ducas had 16 points and 3/7 from three-point range.

SHOW TIME

A wide open dunk from Cheatham in the third quarter followed by Cotton sending his opponent to the floor for a wide open mid-range two had the sold-out 9,429 crowd rocking.

It was a wonderful glimpse of the new Sixers side that seems to be one with the ingredients of one of, if not, the most entertaining team to watch in the competition.

“How good is that to have that explosive athleticism,” Andrew Gaze said on commentary about Cheatham’s dunk.

With former star import Montrezl Harrell exiting the team last Thursday, the Sixers did their best to keep the highlight reels rolling.

COTTON STARTS HOT

It took him nearly half a quarter to register his first points but once he got on the board, there was no stopping for Cotton.

The popular new Sixer scored 13 points in the next three minutes after getting his first bucket and finished the opening quarter with 15 points including 2/2 three-pointers.

Cotton’s first bucket from just inside the three-point line was immediately followed by his first three-pointer 36 seconds later for back-to-back scores.

BULLETS FIGHT

Coming off a tough one-point loss to Cairns, the injury-riddled Bullets meant business in Adelaide after coming back from a nine-point deficit in the second quarter to lead just before half time. They also nearly made a comeback in the first quarter after being eight points down in an impressive start away from home.

Prather and Harrison were the main drivers in the opening half, combining for 25 points at above 80 per cent accuracy.

Million-dollar Mcveigh leads Cairns to win v Kings

- Sean Teuma

The Kendric Davis-Matthew Dellavedova era in Sydney is off to a shaky start as Cairns caused a major boilover at the Kingdome.

Expectations were high for the Kings with the addition of last year’s MVP runner-up and NBA champion.

But as they so often do, the Taipans proved the spoilers, overcoming a second-quarter slump to shock the Kings to the tune of 77-74.

The two sides traded the lead back-and-forth throughout the second half, before Cairns opened up a six-point margin inside the final 30 seconds.

A Kouat Noi triple got them back within range, before they had two chances to level the scores in the dying stages.

But a lack of cohesion that typified their afternoon reared its head again, with a turnover and poor shot gifting the visitors the win in front of 8536 fans at Qudos Bank Arena.

Jack McVeigh led all scorers with 24 points (9/14 FG) to go along with nine rebounds and four assists as he stamped his class as one of the competition’s premier players.

It marks an impressive turnaround from the Taipans, overcoming a 37-point defeat in their season opener to record a weekend double.

DEEP ISSUES

Sydney’s offence is still very much a work in progress, struggling early doors and failing to fire from three in the first half.

They trailed by as much as nine after the Taipans got out to a hot start, and it wasn’t until late in the second quarter they were able to hit a three, taking them to 1/9 for the half.

They eventually found their groove to take a five-point lead at the main break, however would only go on to shoot 4/28 from three.

Davis had 21 points on 27 shots with their half-court attack failing to test the Taipans.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

Adam Forde could have a future in green once he’s done with coaching, with the Taipans coach successfully overturned three calls in the first half

The first was questionable with Marcus Lee appearing to contact the arm of Tim Soares on a steal attempt.

There was no doubt about the next two, with Forde’s decisions to roll the dice proving fruitful.

ANDREWS RESPONDS

After a lacklustre Cairns debut on Friday night, Andrew Andrews looked much better with an impressive 13 points and seven assists.

That was until he went down with a severe cramp in his right quad, falling to the floor in front of the Kings bench early in the fourth quarter.

Despite still looking ginger, he returned with four minutes to play with the game still in the balance, and hit a big three to give the Taipans the lead.

CLASSY TRIBUTE

The Sydney Kings paid their respects to the late Tiana Mangakahia following her tragic passing earlier this month.

They wore a heart patch on their jerseys with her name and playing number, with a similar decal on the court in front of Sydney’s bench.

The former Flame and Opal was just 30 when she passed away due to breast cancer.

Jackies survive McGee blitz

- Brett Keeble

Tasmania JackJumpers survived a JaVale McGee highlight reel to upstage reigning NBL champions Illawarra Hawks 91-86 at WIN Entertainment Centre on Saturday night.

McGee set a new Hawks opening-night scoring record with a game-high 32 points but it was not enough to stop the JackJumpers on the first night of Illawarra’s title defence in front of a sell-out home crowd.

A three-time NBA champion, McGee added 13 rebounds, three blocked shots, two assists and two steals, and his 32 points came from 15-of-20 shooting.

Trailing 74-64 early in the fourth quarter, the Hawks soared back with an 11-0 run to lead 75-74 with six minutes to go. But Tasmania responded with consecutive triples by Majok Deng (14 points) and Tyger Campbell (17) to lead 80-75 and never trailed again.

After 20 lead changes in the first two quarters, the JackJumpers led 49-45 at half-time, despite McGee’s starring role for the Hawks.

The teams were locked at 21-21 after a see-sawing first quarter, which ended with a McGee skills showcase in his first appearance for the Hawks.

McGee slammed home back-to-back dunks to tie the scores 19-19, blocked a shot at the other end, then dished out an assist for Mason Peatling.

FAST STARTER

JackJumpers import Bryce Hamilton continued his hot start to his first NBL season, posting a team-high 21 points for the visitors.

The left-handed former G-League combo guard averaged 25 points a game in his first two outings against Melbourne United and Perth to be the league’s early scoring leader.

Hamilton started slowly against the Hawks but caught fire in the third quarter and went on with the job down the stretch, knocking down two free throws with 27.3 seconds remaining to ice Tasmania’s second win from three games this season.

After falling 88-84 at home to Melbourne, the JackJumpers have bounced back with road wins against Perth (75-72) and Illawarra.

BROTHERS IN ARMS

In an emotional return to the NBL, Harry Froling had Hawks fans standing and cheering when he knocked down a three-pointer with his first shot early in the second quarter.

Froling suffered a life-threatening brain injury when he was the victim of a one-punch attack outside a Wollongong nightclub in January 2023, but rebuilt his career with NBL1 club Melbourne Tigers this year and has re-signed with the Hawks as a back-up big man.

His younger brother Sam, who is still sidelined after tearing his Achilles in Game 4 of Illawarra’s grand final series victory over Melbourne United earlier this year, has resumed running on his road to recovery.

“It’s coming along pretty well,” Froling told Fox Sports at half-time.

“I started running last week, so I’m getting there; not super-fast just yet, but it’s just good to be moving.”

CHAMPIONSHIP HANGOVER

A sell-out crowd packed into the “Sandpit” to watch the Hawks unfurl their 2024-25 NBL championship banner before the team’s season-opener.

From that successful team, the Hawks have lost Trey Kell, Darius Days and Hyunjung Lee to Japanese clubs, and Lachlan Olbrich to the Chicago Bulls, and were without injured stars Sam Froling (Achilles) and Will Hickey (eye).

Despite JaVale McGee’s starring role, the Hawks could not match Tasmania’s teamwork, energy and enthusiasm across four quarters.

CAIRNS ADDS INSULT TO INJURY FOR LOCAL RIVAL BRISBANE

— Mitch Turner

An incredible last stand from the Cairns Taipans has lifted them to a huge round 2 victory at home over the Brisbane Bullets.

The Taipans looked in real trouble in the final moments of the game as Javon Freeman-Liberty drove to the cup unguarded.

But a pair of monster team defensive efforts kept the Bullets at bay, with the Taipans hanging on to win 83-82.

The Taipans’ major off-season signings played a major role in the club’s first victory of the NBL26 season.

Their newest squad member Andrew Andrews struggled with his shot early.

But Cairns fans will rejoice at the veteran presence he offered as a playmaker on court, as he lifted his new team to victory.

The Snakes significantly cut back on their turnovers compared to round 1, in part credit to the addition of another point guard to the fold.

The 32-year-old nailed a number of key jumpshots late in the piece, suggesting the veteran distributor might have found his range.

“It was an ugly win, but we knew it was going to be just with the state we’re in at the moment,” Taipans coach Adam Forde said.

“Andrew was amazing, but he came into the game less than 36 hours since he landed (in Australia).

“He made some big shots at the end, but we know his basketball to come is going to be brilliant.”

Ex-NBA man Admiral Schofield seemed to find his way out of his opening-round slump, nailing a pair of huge corner jumpers late in the third term to hand them a five-point buffer at the final change.

And of course there were the efforts of the biggest signing of all in Jack McVeigh.

The NBL’s newest million dollar man went about his business as usual on his way to 19 points in 38:53 minutes of action.

A huge three from the former grand final MVP to hand Cairns a two-point lead in the final two minutes sent an adoring Far North crowd into raptures.

“Jack was everywhere, I played him pretty much the entire game. He’s got an incredible motor on him,” Forde said.

“This is what we brought Jack in for, and he’s only going to get more comfortable.”

TAIPANS TURNAROUND

Coach Forde didn’t leave any doubt about his frustration with Cairns’ round 1 disaster-class against SEM Phoenix, and it seems to have elicited exactly the response he was after.

While the early aggression from ball-handlers Andrews and Reyne Smith didn’t yield the results they would’ve wanted at first, it set the tone for a much livelier performance from McVeigh on down.

“We had a big week (in training), I didn’t want to wait until it was round 4 or 5 to try to get a response,” Forde said.

“It was a disappointing performance (in round 1) and knowing how great this fanbase is and with it being our first home game, I wanted to put a real emphasis on defending home court.”

HARRISON MAKES PRESENCE FELT

Tyrell Harrison had his way on the interior for large segments of the game, with the Taipans bigs regularly finding themselves outmatched.

The 214cm center showcased all facets of his scoring game, getting to the foul line and showcasing his face-up and post game.

But the big man left two crucial points at the line with 90 seconds remaining and his side two points in arrears.

MCDANIEL DOWN

Brisbane fans will nervously await news on the health of Sam McDaniel, as the swingman went down clutching his ankle early in the first term.

McDaniel scored five quick points before he injured himself chasing a loose ball at midcourt.

The 29-year-old was immediately taken down the race, later returning to the bench with ice on his left ankle.

He took no further part in the game.

Brisbane coach Stuart Lash didn’t have an update post-match on McDaniels’ status, but it is a brutal blow for the veteran who missed the entirety of NBL25 due to a shoulder injury.

COACH’S BRUTAL REVIEW OF PHOENIX’S THROWDOWN NIGHTMARE

— Michael Randall

In a brutal review of his team’s meek capitulation at the hands of Melbourne United, South East Melbourne coach Josh King says his players felt sorry for themselves and “weren’t ready to play like men”.

An honest King was calm and calculated — but pointed — with his comments after his team surrendered 22-straight points without answer in a six-minute stretch that led to a 103-83 defeat against the state rival.

For the best part of three quarters, the Phoenix looked well and truly up for the fight, a Nathan Sobey (26 points) trey with 2.44 to go in the third quieting the United crowd and giving King’s side a 70-66 lead.

In that moment, though, South East Melbourne “fell to bits”, King said.

As if sparked by the Sobey shock, Melbourne found another gear, turning a four-point deficit into an 18-point lead in the next six minutes as an ice-cold Phoenix missed 11 shots in a row and turned the ball over four times.

“We thoroughly got outplayed, out toughed,” King admitted, post-game.

“I told the guys in the locker room ‘they did to us what we would like to do to them’.

“It was a man’s game and we weren’t ready to play like men tonight.

“Doesn’t mean we’re not that, but we weren’t tonight.”

Coming into the Throwdown buoyed by a 37-point annihilation of Cairns, King believed his side might have jumped the shark.

“We thought we had arrived and we quickly found out that we haven’t arrived,” he said.

King said United’s “communication” and “togetherness” set a benchmark his team was unable to match.

“One thing I wasn’t happy with our group was I thought we felt sorry for ourselves a lot when things weren’t going our way,” he said.

“I’m not saying it didn’t happen for them, but I didn’t see a lot of that — I saw a lot of them being together on the floor.”

Without injured talisman Chris Goulding, United has, so far, carved up its opponents in a variety of ways offensively, and Thursday night was no different with six players in double digits, led by the brilliant Milton Doyle’s 18.

United has now won 20 of the 29 Throwdown meetings between the two clubs since the Phoenix entered the league (2019).

Both teams will now turn their attention to historic clashes with NBA team New Orleans Pelicans — United likely without Goulding.

“I’d say he’s doubtful to play that game, right now,” coach Dean Vickerman said.

“I just want him in unbelievably great shape and feeling great about his body when he re-enters the team.

“He feels like he can be a bit patient with the way these boys are playing on the floor right now.

“We’ll have his impact when he’s right to go.”

DASH READY TO UNLEASH ON NBA

At 17, boom United Next Star Dash Daniels is on the fast-track to the NBA.

And he’ll get a unique opportunity to showcase the abilities that have him high on NBA draft boards against the Pelicans next Friday at Rod Laver Arena.

Vickerman is acutely aware of the heightened importance the game holds for his young gun.

“I’m not going to put a number on how much he plays but it’s a game that, obviously, if he does really well, it helps him and helps us,” Vickerman said.

“I’m sure at that level he’s going to be highlighting the things that he does really well.”

In just three professional games, Daniels’ impressive defensive instincts and abilities have been matched by an aggression and comfort on the offensive end.

The kid is scared of no one and has no fear of getting on the rim or shooting the three-ball.

He finished Thursday night’s win with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 17 minutes, showing why a place in the NBA alongside brother Dyson beckons.

FORGET THE IMPORT, PLAY BETTER

Down an import after axing Vrenz Bleijenbergh on the eve of the season, King said it was no excuse for his squad’s stinker.

“We’re going to add another player … but that has nothing to do with the lack of physicality we played with tonight,” he said.

“We’ve got plenty of talent in the locker room.

“That’s an easy excuse for our team: ‘Oh, we need another player’.

“No, we need the guys that are in that locker room to play better.”

King said the Phoenix had planned to play the long game on a replacement for the Belgian big man and, while he was wary of overreacting, Thursday night’s effort added some level of urgency to the search.

“We’re going to try to get somebody in here as soon as possible,” King said.

“They’re going to have to do some scoring for us … share a scoring load but they also are going to have to be able to defend.

BROWN TOWN

With United threatening to stretch a double-digit lead heading into halftime, Phoenix import John Brown III took it upon himself to inspire his teammates with one of the finest pieces of individual defence you’ll see on an NBL court.

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Switched onto the in-form Doyle, Brown transformed into a pit bull on a chain, ferociously sprinting, scampering and sliding his way into Doyle’s path — and head — poking the ball free and sprinting down the court for a quick dunk.

Brown had 3 steals and 3 blocks — backing up the 6 steals he had on debut last round.

If they were handing out the DPOY tomorrow, he’d be close to a moral.