Musashi Match Report: Sykes Sparks Phoenix to Crucial Win

The New Zealand Breakers had the most dominant player on the court but South East Melbourne Phoenix made the big plays when it counted most to claim a desperately needed win on Wednesday night.

Breakers star Finn Delany had a game-high 32 points and Rob Loe added 19 but the Phoenix had seven players score nine points or more then had import guard Keifer Sykes come up big in the final minutes to claim a 90-82 win.

The win keeps the Phoenix ahead of the pack in the race for the top-four and comes after a frustrating 1-5 record in their previous six games.

Sykes was back to the type of form he displayed in the early part of the NBL season that had him being discussed in MVP calculations. He has battled injury since that saw him miss 12 of the previous 18 matches.

But his dynamic play as point guard was on show again at John Cain Arena even if he was still limited to just 21 minutes of court time. But Sykes had 11 of his 21 points in the final term and his energy and nose for the big moment showed how much the Phoenix have missed him.

Fellow point guard Kyle Adham had 14 points and five assists, Yanni Wetzell added 12 points and Mitch Creek had 10 points in his 250th NBL game.

The Phoenix were in-charge early in the match but the Breakers closed out the first term in a hurry with Will McDowell-White knocking down a three on the buzzer to tie scores at 19-19.

The Breakers paid dearly for a flurry of turnovers early in the second as the Phoenix pressed up and forced them into uncomfortable plays but Finn Delany was in unstoppable touch posting 17 points for the first half and keeping his side close.

A three from Cam Gliddon, who missed the Throwdown with Melbourne United on Saturday, had the Phoenix heading into half-time feeling good but Tai Webster landed a lay-up on the buzzer to cut the lead to 47-42.

Delany continued to stack up the points but the Phoenix kept finding ways to boost their lead with the home side heading into the final term up 64-56.

A Rob Loe three and a steal and lay-up from Delany had the Breakers down 76-75 with three minutes to play but the Phoenix kept battling and an offensive rebound and kick-out pass from Reuben Te Rangi set-up Keifer Sykes for three which pushed the lead to 85-79 with 1:28 to play.

Loe hit another three but Creek came up with a clutch jump-hook to make it 87-82 with 50 seconds to play, Delany missed and Sykes made a lay-up to take his side to safety.

The Phoenix now host the Cairns Taipans on Friday night while head to Wollongong to face the Illawarra Hawks on Saturday as their homecoming inches ever so closer.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 18

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 91 (Sykes 21, Adnam 14, Wetzell 12)

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 82 (Delany 32, Loe 19, McDowell-White 14) 

Written by NBL.com.au (12/05/2021)