Basketball On The Internet.

IF you happened to miss our NBL Round 15 match summaries, here they all are in one fix! Of course, you can simply go back and find the game you might be searching for, or settle in for some light reading featuring Sydney's two chalk-and-cheese performances, among others. 

TASMANIA is bordering on becoming the NBL's "island of irrelevancy" after dropping its road game 77-80 to a Brisbane minus the drive of its scoring wizard Nathan Sobey, but with import Chris Smith reinforcing his bona fides as a player better than a "Sixth Man of the Year" candidate.

Whether the JackJumpers mentally took a foot off the accelerator with the news Sobey (knee) would miss the game or if their recent woes are of greater concern, in the end it didn't matter.

It came down to a single play and Smith drove the dagger that pulled the Bullets to 10-11 while bringing the Jackies into the danger zone at 11-10.

Despite not having Sobey's 20.4ppg and with coach Justin Schueller still making what appeared to be some crazed substitutions that even looked to frustrate the players involved, Brisbane throughout maintained the upper hand, albeit never by much.

Inside the last five minutes, Casey Prather - who played just 7:56 - hit a shot to have Brisbane 73-65 clear. Of course he was subbed out at the next opportunity.

Jack McVeigh drove to cut the deficit to six, then Will Magnay against his original club delivered the following five points to draw Tasmania to 72-73.

Magnay had 11 points but could have been more impactful had he not gone 7-of-12 from the free throw line.

Josh Bannan gave Brisbane breathing space at 75-72 but the signs of a Bullie-wobble were there yet again when Milton Doyle calmly slotted a 3-point bucket to tie the game, little more than a minute left.

Bannan's dunk made it 77-75 inside the final 20 seconds but Jordon Crawford raced the ball forward and laid it in for 77-77 with 12.6 seconds to go.

Schueller took a time-out to advance the ball and fashion the last play, Tasmania with two fouls to give before going into bonus which, surely, should have been stressed in the JackJumpers' huddle.

Clearly, it was not.

Brisbane inbounded the ball and Smith stared down quality defender Anthony Drmic with some shake-and-bake as the clock clicked over.

He then rose and sank a 3-pointer over Drmic's outstretched arm to give Brisbane the win 80-77. Sure, there was still 1.0 second on the clock but the Ants came up empty on McVeigh's triple attempt.

Why didn't they foul? Who knows? It really looked as if they didn't know, which would be a major minus for their usually reliable coaching staff.

While Brisbane quietly continues on its upward amble, Tassie is marching in the wrong direction and giving the appearance, at least, of something being not quite right in the camp. With any luck, it's merely a temporary glitch but from 8-5, they have gone 3-5 since early last month.

BRISBANE BULLETS 80 (Smith 19, Harrison 13, Bannan, McDaniel 12; Harrison, McDaniel, Bannan 7 rebs; Scott 5 assts) d TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 77 (Doyle 19, McVeigh 17, Crawford 13, Magnay 11; Lee 7 rebs; Doyle 3 assts) at Nissan Arena. Crowd: 4,486

ADELAIDE, once more wearing its throwback 1999 NBL (back-to-back) champion uniforms, took a big chunk out of current back-to-back champion Sydney Kings' dreams of going one better in 2024 with a convincing home win, Trey Kell and Isaac Humphries again at their best but Sunday Dech also sizzling.

Playing with commitment, purpose and working as a team, the 36ers quickly wrested control, Dejan Vasiljevic keen to make a statement against his former club, Jason Cadee also inserted early as the Sixers ground out a 20-19 lead after one on Kyrin Galloway's late basket.

Dech's insertion provided a major lift as Adelaide blew the match apart in the second period, outscoring the listless visitors 20-8. Yes, the Kings only managed eight points, the signs of a lack of faith in each other already evident.

The further this went though, the worse it became, even if the Kings did "win" the second half 55-53. The body language on the court and on the bench was lamentable and coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah didn't help with his usual frustrating substitution pattern.

To his credit though, he finally chose to open with arguably his best starting group - considering DJ Hogg remains on the injured list - namely Jaylen Adams, Denzel Valentine, Jaylin Galloway, Alex Toohey and Jordan Hunter.

And the start was promising, for a while at least.

Adelaide had its plan figured out and played tougher defensively and together like a team offensively, moving the ball through hands.

Sydney, which last year boasted the "next man up" mentality - remember during the Championship Series when Vasiljevic struggled but Angus Glover stepped up? - in this game adopted the "every man for himself" mentality.

While Abdelfattah pleaded not to got 3-point crazy - they still went 5-of-33, and Glover had 3-of-7 leaving the rest at 2-of-26 - the players need to accept at least part of the blame for this indolent, indifferent insult to the Kings' back-to-back champions.

But enough - and enough IS enough - about the losers.

Adelaide was simply terrific, focused and intent on going to its strengths. Consequently Humphries was a keyway Goliath with 18 points at 54 per cent, 12 rebounds, a steal and three blocks.

Kell struck three 3-pointers at 50 per cent in his game-high 27 points, and also had seven rebounds and five assists.

Trying too hard, Vasiljevic was 1-of-8 from range and 3-of-14 for his 12 points, but his eight assists were important.

So too was Dech's contribution. He had his finest 16 minutes of the season, scoring 13 points at 56 per cent, with four rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Ahead by as many as 22 points, the 36ers again looked great in their back-to-back championship replica uniforms as they forced Sydney into its eighth loss in its past 11 games and fifth loss in its past six.

Kings cross? You bet.

ADELAIDE 36ERS 95 (Kell 27, Humphries 18, Wiley, Dech 13, Vasiljevic 12; Humphries 12 rebs; Vasiljevic 8 assts) d SYDNEY KINGS 82 (Adams 20, Glover 12, Noi 11, Hunter 10; Hunter 9 rebs; Adams 4 assts) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Crowd: 9,580

THE NBL threw up two exciting results with a major point of difference - Melbourne beat New Zealand 82-81 in regulation but Illawarra required two overtimes to stall Tasmania 108-107, two one-point thrillers where, unfortunately, some of the officiating was not commensurate with the level of play.

But then in all fairness, the level of play for much of the Illawarra-Tasmania game was not all that flash, not until an amazing final few minutes of regulation and two dramatic sets of five-minute overtime extensions.

It was enough to brings fans to their feet, just as it did in TSB Stadium in Taranaki, though sadly for different reasons.

In NZ, the debate was whether Matthew Dellavedova (14-point, 10-assist double-double), when fouled late by Will McDowell-White, was in the act of shooting or still gathering the ball.

The score was tied at 81-81 and the Breakers fouling to draw into bonus. If you're a United fan, you know and for completely sure that Delly was already moving up into his shot when WMW fouled him.

If you're in the Breakers' camp, you know with absolute certainty Dellavedova was still gathering the ball when fouled and it should have been side ball with four seconds left.

Instead, Delly was awarded two free throws and made the first to create the 82-81 lead. He missed the second, NZ import Zylan Cheatham snared the defensive board - his 10th rebound of the game - then held the ball and indicated to the refs he was calling an "on the floor" time-out.

Except this is the NBL, not the NBA. And the NBL plays its games under FIBA rules. That means time-outs can only be called by coaches, you know, in the traditional way.

So all Cheatham achieved was to run out the precious little time left on the clock. It pays to know the rules of the competition in which you are playing. (By the way, Chris Webber says "Hi".)  

MELBOURNE UNITED 82 (Goulding 24, Dellavedova 14, Travers 13, Hukporti 12; Travers 11 rebs; Dellavedova 10 assts) d NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 81 (Lamb 22, Jackson-Cartwright 21, Mathiang 13, Rubstavicius, Cheatham 11; Cheatham 10 rebs; Jackson-Cartwright 5 assts) at TSB Stadium. Crowd: 2,347

INSIDE the last three minutes of regulation in Hobart, Gary Clark (25 points, 15 rebounds) pushed Illawarra ahead 79-67 and Tasmania, with Milton Doyle strugggling from the field, looked absolutely cooked.

But while the Hawks were preparing to celebrate and figuratively putting the cue in the rack, the Ants started running rampant.

Maybe the Hawks shouldn't have unwrapped those egg-lettuce-and-mayo sandwiches because you know what JackJumpers are like when they get the sniff of a picnic. It's bedlam.

Suddenly Jordon Crawford cut the margin to 10 with a Jackie jumper. then JackieJ McVeigh made it an eight-point deficit at 71-79, a tad over two minutes remaining.

Tassie created two stops, a Justin Robinson miss and a Todd Blanchfield turnover, but only added a Sean MacDonald free throw before Clark's basket made it 81-72 to Illawarra, 80 seconds to go.

McVeigh's quick response made it 74-81, Clark's free throw 82-74, just 46 seconds to play. Enough time for another 16 points to be scored? Surely not.

Um...

Crawford's three made it 77-82, a Clark turnover opened the door and McVeigh's triple had it to 80-82.

Robinson's free throws put the score at 84-80, 20 seconds left. Time enough for Doyle to ice a 3-pointer and 83-84.

Tyler Harvey's FTs surely would clinch it? No. At 86-83 there was still enough time for Doyle to lift the fans out of their seats with a match-tying triple before Harvey's heave for the win missed, sending the game to overtime.

Harvey had his chance to save the game though, Illawarra trailing 96-99 and heartbeats left in the extension when Crawford, pressuring him down the floor, was called for a foul as Harvey let it fly.

Knocking down all three freebies, Harvey's shots saved the match for the Hawks, sending it to a second five-minute playoff when Anthony Drmic's late prayer went unanswered.

The drama barely abated, Marcus Lee making a free throw for 107-108 before Tasmania had enough time to fashion a final play to steal the match. Needing a regulation bucket, Crawford went early for a 3-pointer which missed. There was time and options but in truth, the JJs shooting 22-of-34 from the charity stripe and Illawarra 24-of-35 meant both kept the door ajar to blow this one.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 108 (Clark 25, Froling 23, Robinson 21, Harvey 19, Lee 12; Clark 15 rebs; Robinson 5 assts) d TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 107 (Crawford 24, Doyle 19, McVeigh 17, Magnay 13; MacDonald 9 rebs; Doyle 6 assts) in double-overtime {86-86} {99-99} at Mystate Bank Arena. Crowd: 4,340

IT was most definitely the "Night of the Gaks", with Cairns' Akoldah Gak setting career-highs with a 21-point, 14-rebound double and South East Melbourne's Gorjok Gak leading the Phoenix with 11 boards. But it was a night to forget for the Adelaide 36ers, before the Wildcats pantsed the Phoenix in Perth.

The Sixers started the game looking like millionaires but finished it as paupers with Taipans players such as Gak producing career games and Josh Roberts again the height of efficiency.

Roberts had 12 points in 12 minutes on 5-of-5 shooting, sticking his one 3-point attempt and single bonus free throw attempt, with four rebounds, an assist and a block.

Like Gak, Roberts was a vital contributor as Cairns went into the game without Sam Waardenburg and Jonah Antonio, had Bul Kuol, Lat Mayen and Taran Armstrong all foul out and Sam Mennenga playing just four minutes.

If ever the Taipans were vulnerable at home, this game was it. It's how it started too, Adelaide opening with 15 unanswered points and still up by 11 (89-78) inside the last seven minutes of regulation.

Isaac Humphries was en route to a career-high 28 points (plus 11 rebounds, two steals and a block) but he should have scored far more had his teammates utilised his massive keyway presence.

Instead selfishness took over, players repeatedly calling him out of the key to set screens in pick-and-roll situations to rattle up their own shots.

On the block, Humphries was unstoppable but as the Taipans closed in the last quarter, Adelaide's personnel combinations became questionable and unless Jacob Wiley (23 minutes) was injured, his prolonged stint on the sidelines was unforgivable.

Kyrin Galloway was in way over his head and committed a turnover, sandwiched between a pair of lost possessions by a Kell slipping into a hero mode the 36ers not only did not need but surely did not want.

Meanwhile Tahjere McCall, penalised early for one of the year's most diabolical and hilarious flops and punished also by Nick Marshall with an open 3-pointer as a result of Macca's histrionics, steadily took control of the game.

His 30 points came on 10-of-19 shooting, with 3-of-5 threes and 7-of-7 free throws courtesy of him taking it right at the Adelaide defenders.

McCall even tickled a triple-double, compiling eight defensive rebounds and nine assists to go with two steals and a block.

Partner-in-primetime, Pat Miller bobbed up with 25 points and eight assists, scoring nine of them in the final period and six in overtime, McCall with 13 in the last period and the extension.

Gak's dunk tied it at 94-94 and when he opened the scoring in the five-minute extension, that initiated an 8-0 run featuring both McCall and Miller and from 102-94 ahead, Cairns was never dropping this.   

Adelaide mustered a pathetic 12 points (to 22) in the final quarter and seven points to 17 in the overtime, down 99-111 before Vasiljevic hit the game's last shot.

Kell was 4-of-16 from the floor and Vasiljevic 5-of-16 as Adelaide unravelled under pressure. If only the 36ers hadn't switched from their 1999 replica jerseys to their white-flag road strip. 

CAIRNS TAIPANS 111 (McCall 30, Miller 25, Gak 21, Roberts 12; Gak 14 rebs; McCall 9 assts) d ADELAIDE 36ERS 101 (Humphries 28, Kell 25, Vasiljevic 19; Humphries 11 rebs; Kell 3 assts) in overtime {94-94} at Cairns Convention Centre. Crowd: 4,659

THERE was only one name in Perth and it was Bryce Cotton. His father visiting from the US and sitting in the stands, Cotton further elevated a game already out of the reach of the rest of the mere mortals inhabiting the NBL.

His 34 points came at 50 per cent - he missed a few with his arm tiring - and included 7-of-13 threes and 5-of-5 frees. Cotton's stat line also had six rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Imports Abdel Nader and Gary Browne still sidelined by injury, this always was going to be a massive challenge for a South East Melbourne team struggling to stay relevant and needing role players such as Matt Kenyon and Reuben Te Rangi to step up.

Kenyon's 31 minutes yielded zero points on 0-of-4 shooting, seven rebounds, two assists, two turnovers and two fouls. Te Rangi enjoyed four points on 1-of-4 shooting, three rebounds, one assist, two turnovers and two fouls in 33 minutes.

If not for Mitch Creek's 36 points at 60 per cent and seven rebounds, and Alan Williams' 12-point, 10-rebound double, this could have been even uglier than it panned out.

Phoenix coach Mike Kelly gambled early on Owen Foxwell harassing Cotton but the Wildcats superstar had 26 points by halftime, that initial plan long since abandoned.

Tai Webster was on his way to 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting - his best return as a Wildcat - and David Okwera relished his minutes in Alex Sarr's absence.

Ahead 56-39 at halftime, Perth figuratively took its foot off the pedal in the third but was never truly threatened. Phoenix pivot Gorjok Gak seized his chances to grab a game-high 11 rebounds in a mere 13:37 of action before he fouled out.

But with Keanu Pinder throwing down a wicked dunk and Jordan Usher scoring his 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting, it was a party in Perth the Phoenix never looked capable of gate-crashing.

PERTH WILDCATS 100 (Cotton 34, T.Webster 20, Pinder 13, Usher 10; Okwera, Wagstaff, Pinder, Cotton 6 rebs; T.Webster 4 assts) d SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 79 (Creek 36, Williams 12, Ayre 10; Gak 11 rebs; Ayre 4 assts) at RAC Arena. Crowd: 12,859

NATHAN Sobey returned from injury to lead Brisbane over Illawarra before the Sydney Kings turned their "Pink Hoops" day to raise breast cancer awareness and funding, into a sell-out success as they routed New Zealand in front of a record 16,605 crowd, Jaylen Adams scoring 39 points.

The result and the manner in which it was achieved restored the pride the Kings had been leaving in the locker-room and the belief that yes, given the right circumstances, this team can factor into post-season activities.

Having lost eight of their previous 11 games and five of their past six, it would be premature in the extreme to declare "they're back," yet despite coming out against the Breakers in their highly-criticised and mocked zone defensive alignment, by the first break they led 34-19.

That was their most points in a first quarter, Denzel Valentine on fire and Adams, who has been wayward and way awful from range, swished his first five 3-point attempts.

By halftime and smoking on a 63-34 lead - that's right, the Breakers had managed 34 points in two quarters to Sydney's 34 in one - the Kings now had their best scoring half of the season and had  Valentine sizzling for 20 points by the break.

While DV spent some time sitting and admiring the work of his teammates, Adams took over the scoring to have 21 by the break and this was over and done.

Adams smashed his previous career high and could have made it into the 40s - surely assistant coaches should be telling the boss how close he is so he can be left out there to achieve it - but coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah was generous in giving his benchies some time.

With DJ Hogg still out, his starting group of Adams, Valentine, Jaylin Galloway, Alex Toohey and Jordie Hunter (game high 10 rebounds) showed the way and Angus Glover (13 points, 4-of-6 threes) merrily followed suit.

New Zealand simply had no answers, stars Anthony Lamb, Zylan Cheatham and Mantas Rubstavicius mustering 18 points between them on 7-of-25 shooting.

If Izayah Le'afa hadn't rediscovered his shot for 15 points and Cam Gliddon hadn't knocked down 4-of-5 threes in 13 minutes, this would have been even worse but still, easily, the Breakers' worst performance this season - and last.

SYDNEY KINGS 105 (Adams 39, Valentine 23, Glover 13; Hunter 10 rebs; Valentine 5 assts) d NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 76 (Le'afa 15, Gliddon, Jackson-Cartwright 12, McDowell-White 10; Mathiang 5 rebs; Lamb 5 assts) at Qudos Bank Arena. Crowd: 16,605

SOBEY was sidelined with injury when his team rallied to beat Tasmania earlier in the round so he must have been inspired to show the Bullets he still was a necessary commodity when they hosted Illawarra.

He didn't leave many doubters, banging in 22 first-half points to set the scene for Brisbane to win its fourth straight game for the first time since Andrej Lemanis was in nappies.

While the Hawks under Justin Tatum are too good now to fold like a house of cards, they hung around throughout but never looked like producing the aces necessary to overpower Brisbane.

Tyler Harvey's 29 points were impressive, as was his 6-of-11 return from 3-point territory. But the Bullets defence messed sufficiently with Sam Froling to talk him out of taking mid-range shots when he was open.

Lachlan Olbrich again sparked the Hawks with eight points on 4-of-4 shooting but Brisbane came at Illawarra in different ways, Chris Smith's 19 points at 60 per cent, Tyrell Harrison with 18 at 63, plus seven rebounds and three blocks.

Two minutes left and Illawarra bringing the deficit back to 93-101, Isaac White nailed a 3-pointer and no further correspondence needing entering into.

Mitch Norton also enjoyed his most productive offensive game since switching to the Bullets, his 18 points at 63 per cent including 2-of-3 threes.  

BRISBANE BULLETS 110 (Sobey 25, Smith 19, Harrison, Norton 18, White 12; Harriuson 7 rebs; Scott 6 assts) d ILLAWARRA HAWKS 103 (Harvey 29, Froling, Robinson 15, Clark 13; Clark 8 rebs; Robinson, Clark 3 assts) at Nissan Arena. Crowd: 5,200