Suddenly it all came crashing down for Sixers

ADELAIDE fell asleep in the final quarter against New Zealand yesterday as ridiculous scheduling caught up with the 36ers in their 20-point loss in Auckland.

After beating the Taipans in Cairns on Friday night the Sixers had a 12-hour trip via Sydney arriving at their Auckland hotel around 1.30am for a 2pm tip-off yesterday.

It’s understood the game was originally scheduled as a night fixture before free-to-air TV coverage brought it forward.

It was always going to be a long day when Majok Deng revealed he was still wide awake at 3.10am but the Sixers staved off fatigue for three quarters before it all became too much.

Missed shots that were too often blocked, sloppy turnovers and lazy defence crept in as the Breakers turned a onepoint three-quarter-time lead into a 114-94 win on the back of Finn Delany’s game-high 27 points which spoiled the party for Joey Wright’s 450th NBL game as coach.

“They proved too good for us in the end, they made some tough shots and Finn was all over the place and we couldn’t contain him,” Nathan Sobey said.

“We can’t use that (travel) as an excuse, it’s just the way the schedule is set out so we have to go back to the drawing board.”

There was still upside to Adelaide’s performance with Jacob Wiley hitting a seasonhigh 23 points and rookie Harry Froling continuing his rapid improvement with 20.

If Adelaide was tired at the beginning of the game you wouldn’t have known it. Sobey’s three-point play then BRISBANE could officially announce the signing of US import Lamar Patterson as soon as today.

Bullets powerbrokers were tight-lipped yesterday about Patterson heading to Brisbane but it is understood the deal to get the former Atlanta Hawks swingman just needs some final tweaks – and the rubberstamp from NBL head office.

The 27-year-old will bring instant offence to the Bullets, who have had their sights set on him for some time only for more cashed-up overseas clubs to swoop on the 196cm-tall guard/forward. Wiley’s block and basket got them off to a confident start.

Adelaide led by five points at half time and trailed by one at three-quarter-time when the wheels fell off.

Their shots were blocked and their defence easily penetrated as they were outscored 27-8 in the final quarter.

The Sixers are due back in Adelaide tonight and have a quick turnaround to face Brisbane on the road on Thursday.