Fans and 36ers in hostile, physical clash

Adelaide superstar Montrezl Harrell — former NBA Sixth Man of the Year — and Melbourne guard Shea Ili were ejected after an on-court melee escalated into at least one fan behind the 36ers bench pushing a club official as well as guard Dejan Vasiljevic while the referees reviewed the play.

The catalyst was Harrell taking exception to United centre Rob Loe pushing him the chest while both players were on the floor in the paint after Loe drew an offensive foul on Harrell in the fourth quarter. Loe appeared to pull Harrell down during the charge with United up 85-73 just 49 seconds gone.

Harrell pushed back on Loe and as was getting back to his feet, United point guard Shea Ili rushed in and pushed the 201cm American in the chest with two hands. It sparked a scuffle between the two clubs — contained to only players on the floor.

36ers coach Mike Wells said: "I’m on the other end of the floor, my first reaction was to make sure nobody was coming off the bench, and nobody did. And by the time I walked down there, everything had stopped.

"So when I came back we’ve got fans screaming and players and it’s like all mayhem is breaking loose on the sideline.

"From what I saw, they put hands on our GM [Matt Weston]."

While the referees were reviewing the on-court scrap, both teams were back at their benches. Court-side vision shows Harrell in an intense conversation with people, or an individual, sitting behind the bench.

The fan stands up and pushes an Adelaide official over the hoarding. Harrell and Vasiljevic take exception before the fan pushes the 190cm 36ers guard in the chest.

Adelaide officials, assistant coaches and teammates pulled Vasiljevic and Harrell away from the fan, de-escalating the situation. Moments later, a fan with his hoodie pulled tightly over his head walks toward the exit.

The NBL said a total of four fans were ejected.

Melbourne United dominated in the 113-93 win at John Cain Arena on Sunday.

United coach Dean Vickerman was measured about his team’s response to the on-court scuffle but disappointed about the altercation between fans and the 36ers.

"I don’t think we did anything to super escalate the situation, our intention once it got heated was to defuse it as quick as we could," he said.

"Fans are there to view the game and support the game. It’s something you never want to see, right.

"You never want to see a crossover between players and fans, you want to see it in the part of engagement and stuff like that, but obviously we’ve crossed the line in the game, they’ve reacted to whatever has been said and it’s something that we don’t want to see."

Wells said Harrell spoke to his 36ers teammates in the locker room after the game but “we’ll keep that in-house,” he said.

The NBL is investigating.

Melbourne United dominated from the jump, establishing control early with a 13-0 run in the opening minutes. They led by seven at quarter-time and extended the margin to 13 at halftime, on the back of Chris Goulding's threes to close both periods.

The lead ballooned to 17 in the third quarter, and United eventually cruised to a 20-point victory, reclaiming the top spot on the ladder with a 10-4 record. Ian Clark was pivotal, scoring 20 points on 4-7 shooting from beyond the arc, while Flynn Cameron recorded a career-high 21 points on an impressive 7-11 shooting. Goulding added 19 points, Matthew Dellavedova 15 and seven assists, while Loe chipped in with 13 points and seven rebounds.

For the Adelaide 36ers, their road woes continued, slipping to 1-4 away from home while conceding an average of 105.8 points per game. Despite another standout performance from Davis, who posted 30 points and 11 assists, the 36ers are now 6-5 heading into the FIBA break. Harrell had 20 points before his ejection, and DJ Vasiljevic added 17.