The Brisbane Bullets have all however terminated Adelaide 36ers’ NBL finals hopes with a gripping 106-101 additional time victory at Nissan Arena.
Sixth man Tyler Johnson scored 23 of his game-high 27 factors after halftime on Thursday, whereas veteran Jason Cadee posted 22 factors regardless of enduring bouts of dizziness to place away his former aspect.
Johnson’s pullup jumper with 5 seconds remaining in regulation put Brisbane up 91-89 earlier than 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 name when Hyrum Harris clearly touched the ball final after Nathan Sobey stripped Robert Franks below Adelaide’s bucket.
Brisbane, up by two factors, ought to have had possession, however as a substitute Franks nailed a jumper to stage the scores.
In additional time, Johnson and Cadee knocked down a succession of free throws to consign the eighth-ranked 36ers to their fourth straight defeat.
Anthony Drmic (20 factors), Cleveland (18) and Franks (17) all tried valiantly for the 36ers (11-13), who will nearly definitely endure one other idle finals marketing 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 in a position to shut the deal.”
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 clearly been on a rollercoaster this 12 months however our management tonight was actually good,” Brisbane caretaker coach Greg Vanderjagt said.
“When momentum was going in opposition to us, we have been in a position to resolve, construct collectively and dig ourselves out of holes, which was actually pleasing.”
