Game Recap: Hawks @ Adelaide 36ers | RD8 NBL27

Adelaide beat us 106-78 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Saturday night. We came in having lost seven straight in Adelaide, and it remains the one venue where Justin Tatum is yet to coach a win. For a quarter we pushed hard, with Tyler Harvey (8 points) and Kelan Martin (7) leading a first quarter that finished 22-21 to the 36ers. Adelaide then took the second quarter 27-16 and the third 36-23, and the 28-point margin was set.

Davo ran the show

William “Davo” Hickey finished with 11 assists in 26:29, more than half of our team total of 19. Six came through three quarters and he added five more in the fourth, finding Johny Narkle at the rim, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk and Todd Blanchfield from deep, and Lamar Patterson on a late layup.

Seventeen before the break

Tyler Harvey did everything he could to keep us in touch, scoring 17 of his 19 points before half-time. He finished 8 from 11 with two threes and five rebounds. A floater and the free throw for the and-one dragged us back to 31-27, and his second-quarter three made it 38-32.

Martin finds a spark

Kelan Martin gave us a first-quarter lift off the bench, hitting two jumpers inside a minute to level it at 11-11, then a three to cut it to one. He finished with 12 points, two threes and four rebounds. Wani Swaka Lo Buluk added eight points with two threes.

Narkle says no to Cotton

The lone highlight of the fourth was a sweet one. Johny Narkle rose to block a slashing Bryce Cotton with just over seven minutes left. Narkle finished with five points, three rebounds and two blocks in 13:50, Todd Blanchfield led our rebounding with eight in 16:10, and Lamar Patterson gave us seven points off the bench, including a three and two layups in the fourth.

Where it got away

We did a job on Bryce Cotton early, holding him to four points on 1 from 9 in the first half. Then came the third quarter, when he scored 17 of his 22 points and finished 10 from 11 at the line. Adelaide shot 14 from 29 from three (48.3 per cent) against a season rate of 31.5, and John Jenkins III hit his first five from deep after arriving shooting 27.7 per cent from three.

The 36ers grabbed nine offensive rebounds in the first half alone and 13 for the game, went to the line 28 times to our 16, and outrebounded us 44-39. We turned it over 17 times to their 8. Andrew Gaze said on the call that it looked like the Hawks were “trying to out shoot them, rather than out play them.” Protect the ball, share it and win the glass, and the fix is in our hands.

Tempers flare late

Things got heated with just under four minutes to play when Nick Rakocevic pushed Makur Maker. William Hickey took exception, a fracas erupted and it ended up at our bench, with Justin Tatum doing his best as peacekeeper. Flagrant fouls went against Maker and Hickey, with a technical on Rakocevic, and Maker’s technical and flagrant meant he was ejected.

Cheatham fills the sheet

Zylan Cheatham finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for Adelaide, NBL27's first Triple Double - one year to the day since Davo Hickey's in Cairns last season. Rakocevic added 20 points and 16 rebounds, seven of them offensive.

Forty-sixth straight sellout

The crowd was a 46th straight sellout for the 36ers. A long stoppage mid-quarter in the second also made the broadcast, when a Hawks miss knocked a backboard camera loose and the commentators lamented how long it took to find a ladder. To every Hawkhead who travelled or watched from home, thank you. Your support carries us into Melbourne.

Vote for you Greater Bank Game MVP and you could win $5000

Greater Bank, the Hawks’ Platinum Partner, presents the Greater Bank Game MVP fan vote after every game, home and away. The candidates on their numbers: Tyler Harvey with 19 points on 8 from 11, William Hickey with 11 assists, Kelan Martin with 12 points off the bench and Todd Blanchfield with eight rebounds. Over to you, Hawkheads.

The road swing continues. Next stop, Melbourne

Round 9 is Wednesday 11 November at 7:30pm, away to the S.E. Melbourne Phoenix at the State Basketball Centre in the Ignite Cup.

HUNGRY JACK’S NBL27 (Boxscore)

Illawarra Hawks 78 (Harvey 19, Martin 12, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk 8)
Adelaide 36ers 106 (Cotton 22, Cheatham 21, Rakocevic 20)

Press Conference presented by Relativity Films

Highlights

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