36ers give Kings 'Trezzing' down in blow-out win

• 36ers led by as many as 29 in blow-out
• Kendric Davis and Montrezl Harrell combine for 55
• Adelaide pumps Sydney 111-96 at Qudos Bank Arena

It was over early — very early. The Adelaide 36ers had one of those team meetings after three consecutive 20-point blow-out losses and turned their frustrations on to the Sydney Kings, demolishing the home team 111-96 (Game Centre) at Qudos Bank Arena on December 30, 2024 in Round 14 of NBL25.

"It was good to have that competitiveness and the group wanted to go out there and prove something," 36ers head coach Mike Wells said.

"I couldn’t be more proud just of the effort so there was a lot of good stuff out there and a lot of has been said about our group, and there's a prideful group in there."

The 36ers unleashed in the first quarter, shutting down the Kings offense and making virtually everything they put up. Adelaide led 32-10 after one and in the second DJ Vasiljevic caught fire hitting three straight threes in the second. Kendric Davis put the exclamation mark on the first 20 minutes with a step-back three on the buzzer to make it 62-33.

Kendric Davis, who shot 6-from-9 and 5-from-6 from three had 20 points. The 36ers 59% from the field.

"We just want to play hard," Davis said at half-time.

Game over.

Sydney Kings Head Coach Brian Goorjian was blunt in his assessment.

“They just kicked our arse ... that falls on me," he said.

“If you look at our whole record and I think we’re about the .500 record mark ... I don’t think we’ve taken a punch this whole season.

“Every loss has been in the last two minutes of the game. Tonight it was in the first quarter.

"Tonight’s real simple ... I knew watching the game they (the 36ers) played the night before and what took place, that they would have had soul-searching meetings and heart-to-hearts, and come into this game how you do if you’re a competitor and a baller,” he said.

"You’re going to come in and throw punches, because of everything that’s going and spinning around you.

"My job coming into this game was to make sure that my guys understood what was coming ... making sure that they were ready, and this is on me.”

Adelaide centre Isaac Humphries told ABC Sport after the blow-out loss to Wildcats on Saturday, December 28, 2024 the 36ers "We’re struggling right now … you guys don’t see a lot of stuff that happens behind the scenes."

"We need to do better," he said. "But it’s a collective from what happens during the week and it’s just a hard environment right now.

"Guys coming in and out is always hard. No one knows their role and we’re all trying to figure it out in front of your eyes.

"So, the frustration is exactly the same for us as it is for you guys watching. We’re just trying to figure this out every day and we’re just not."

Wells shortened the rotation, started Montrezl Harrell, and turned Davis loose and it was too much for the Kings to handle.

"The offense, the schemes that we did defensively, there was no comparison from the time the ball went up as far as anything that involved competitive spirit,” Goorjian said.

"I kept saying to the staff to ‘make sure that we’re ready to play’. I had an opportunity to do that and we didn’t get it done.

"It’s my job to put a team on the floor that’s going to compete.

"We let the crowd and the Kings fans down."

Goorjian admitted it was Sydney’s most disappointing loss of the season though Sydney mounted a few runs to trim the deficit, Adelaide always had an answer, pushing the lead back to 20-plus points multiple times.

Davis finished with 30 points and nine assists, including 5 three-pointers. Former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Harrell was dominant, scoring 25 points on ultra-efficient 8-of-11 shooting to go with 10 rebounds. For Sydney, Jaylen Adams did his best to keep the Kings in it with 41 points, but it wasn't nearly enough to overcome Adelaide's blistering team performance.

The stats tell the story of Adelaide's dominance. They shot a scorching 57% from three-point range (15-from-26) compared to just 31% for Sydney (11-of-35). Adelaide racked up 19 assists to Sydney's 11, reflecting their crisp ball movement that led to so many open looks.