STANLEY MATCH REPORT: Sobey delivers record Phoenix fightback to force Game 3

The Adelaide 36ers looked on track for the NBL Championship Series until Nathan Sobey ignited the South East Melbourne Phoenix with 39 third quarter points for a career-best 41 forcing a Playoffs Game 3 with the 101-92 win.

The 36ers opened the series with the 104-97 Game 1 win at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre back on Tuesday night and were in control throughout the first half at John Cain Arena on Saturday.

The Sixers built an 18-point lead in the second quarter and were still up 13 at the half on the back of shooting 73 per cent from the field and going to the line 15 times to seven with Bryce Cotton showing the way with 19 points and 10 free-throw attempts.

Sobey was a shining light already for the Phoenix with 20 points. Then he exploded with four more three-pointers in the first five minutes of the third quarter.

His team then came along with him as they outscored the 36ers 39-20 in the third term. They had all the momentum at home to complete the nine-point win and force the Game 3 back in Adelaide on Tuesday.

The Phoenix finished with 18 offensive rebounds and forced Adelaide into 18 turnovers which are their two trademark categories to attempted 25 extra shots despite 11 fewer free throws.

Sobey had the night of his 331-game NBL career with 41 points, five rebounds and three assists on shooting 14/27 from the field, 8/16 from deep and 5/6 from the foul line.

John Brown III pulled down six offensive rebounds for 12 points and seven boards with Angus Glover adding 10 points, Ian Clark 10, and Jordan Hunter nine points, six rebounds and three blocks. Owen Foxwell also had six points and seven assists.

Six-time MVP Bryce Cotton finished with 29 points, six rebounds and five assists on 12/14 foul shooting for Adelaide. Nick Rakocevic added 18 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, DJ Vasiljevic 14 points on 4/9 three-point shooting, and Zylan Cheatham 12 points, six boards and three blocks.

Bryce Cotton fed Isaac Humphries to give Adelaide the first four points and even with Nathan Sobey warming up with three three-point bombs for South East Melbourne, the 36ers took charge heading into quarter-time.

The Sixers finished the quarter with a 14-2 run that included a pair of three balls from Nick Rakocevic as the visitors headed into quarter-time with a 30-19 lead.

Adelaide pushed out to a 15-point lead with the first four points of the second term and with an 11-4 start overall, their lead grew to 18.

Sobey was doing what he could to keep South East Melbourne in the contest with 20 points to half-time, but he didn’t have enough help and the 36ers were leading 57-44.

Cotton had 19 points with 9/10 free-throw shooting but he was getting plenty of help with the Sixers shooting 73 per cent from the field with 6/8 from deep, and only missing seven shots in 20 minutes.

South East Melbourne might have had their backs to the wall at half-time, but not for long with Sobey come out and hitting two rapid-fire three balls to open the second half.

He kickstarted another 5-0 run that was capped with Wes Iwundu hitting from deep and John Brown III scoring on a trademark offensive rebound to tie scores up with that 13-point deficit erased in fewer than three minutes.

Sobey then hit two more three balls to give him eight for the game to push the Phoenix out to a leader which suddenly became eight when Angus Glover got rolling with his own 8-0 run.

The Phoenix turned that into an 83-77 lead by three quarter-time thanks to the 39 points to 20 in the quarter and from there they were able to maintain that momentum throughout the final period to complete the nine-point win.

The deciding Game 3 will be back at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Tuesday night with the winner to advance to the Championship Series.

FULL TIME STATS

Sobey: 41p/5r/3a
Brown III: 12p/7r/2a/1stl
Glover: 10p/3r
Clark: 10p/1r/1a
Hunter: 9p/6r/2a/3blk
Iwundu: 7p/3r/1a/1stl
Foxwell: 6p/3r/7a/2stl
Lewis: 6p/5r/2a/3stl
Aliir: 1a/1stl

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