Melbourne United stand tall in final frenzy

MELBOURNE United have survived a late Adelaide 36ers comeback to win 99-91 in a thrilling NBL clash at Hisense Arena in Melbourne.

After leading comfortably for most of the game last night, United saw a 16-point lead reduced to two with 23 seconds left after the 36ers launched a late assault in front of a stunned crowd.

But after Daniel Johnson’s missed free throw, Adelaide unravelled, with a series of unsportsmanlike and technical fouls allowing Melbourne to clinch their third straight win at the free throw line.

“I’ve never been involved in anything like that before,” Adelaide coach Joey Wright said after the match.

With key import Casey Prather sidelined after dislocating his elbow against the Illawarra Hawks last Saturday, Casper Ware (24 points, five assists) and Chris Goulding (22 points) led United to their ninth win of the season.

Melbourne unleashed a first-half blitz of long-range shooting and team defence, sinking nine three-pointers.

The 36ers picked up their attack in the second half thanks to Johnson (20 points, 10 rebounds), Nathan Sobey (19 points) and Josh Childress (18 points).

The 36ers opened the third quarter with six unanswered points but Tai Wesley’s low post scoring steadied the ship and Goulding hit twice from deep to restore Melbourne’s double-digit lead.

Sobey struck back for Adelaide with 10 points for the quarter but Hooley’s buzzerbeating three-pointer gave United a 71-60 advantage before Adelaide’s late comeback set up a grandstand finish.

Melbourne coach Dean Vickerman gave credit to his side for closing out the match during a tense finale.

Adelaide “just lost their head a little bit and got hurt for that,” Vickerman said. “I’m happy we were able to control our emotions and not get punished for any of those things.”

Adelaide head home to face Cairns on Sunday while Melbourne will aim for a fourth straight win when they host Brisbane on Boxing Day. AAP