Adelaide tips over Taipans
AN ATHLETIC masterclass from import Jacob Wiley steered the Adelaide 36ers to a comprehensive 109-95 NBL victory over the Cairns Taipans last night.
Wiley threw down a swag of acrobatic dunks in his gamehigh 30 point haul and was well supported by Anthony Drmic who had 18 points, including five-of-six three-pointers.
The rejuvenated Sixers are again pushing the top-four after chalking up their second straight win.
MVP candidate Melo Trimble (23 points) and fellow American Devon Hall (17) paced the Taipans, who were thoroughly outplayed from quarter-time on.
Trimble’s 11 first-term points guided Cairns to a 29-23 quarter-time but when the star import sat on the bench to start the second, Adelaide took full toll. Wiley’s steal and jam sparked the 36ers into action, the hosts seizing the impetus and leading 54-49 at halftime.
Red-hot Drmic nailed three straight triples inside 75 seconds to open an eventful third stanza which had a bit of everything.
It included a spectacular Ramone Moore-to-Nathan Sobey alley-oop, separate unsportsmanlike fouls on Sobey and Trimble, a contentious flopping technical against Taipans forward Kuany Kuany and a reverse over-the-head circus flip shot from Wiley as the Sixers extended their lead to 86-72 heading into the final term.
Cairns coach Mike Kelly also copped a technical foul after voicing his displeasure at the referees early in the fourth.