Walton Jr and Matt Hurt blow roof off 36ers

• Derrick Walton Jr drops 28 in 24 minutes
• Phoenix dominates 36ers on defensive side of ball
• Matt Hurt on fire from behind the three

Lucky the roof was already off John Cain Arena because the South East Melbourne Phoenix would have blown it off in what can only be described as a 106-86 demolition job (Game Centre) of the Adelaide 36ers on Round 13 of NBL25 on Saturday, December 21, 2024.

It was the first time the Phoenix played a home game — in front of almost 10,200 fans — with the roof retracted and the they were as good as the pre-game laser light show.

Phoenix guard Derrick Walton Jr is certainly back, recovering from a hamstring injury, back in October in the Throwdown win against Melbourne United. The 29-year-old former NBA player had 28 points in 24 minutes as well as six rebounds and three assists.

Walton Jr said he focused on playing any role the Phoenix needed to win.

"I feel like I'm a guy that can do a lot of things," he said.

"I'm just trying to make sure I mesh with the other four guys. I (Nathan) Sobey can score. We got a lot of guys. We got a lot of firepower on offense. So it's just more so for me, understanding who I am and who I've been my whole career and just trying to find a groove.

"Each game is going to look different. And for me, I'm a winner. So it's like, just trying to find my groove. Sometimes it's going to be me scoring 26. It's going to be sometimes 15 and 10. It's going to vary. But for me, I call myself a chameleon. I just try to take what the game gives me for the most part."

Phoenix head coach Josh King said the game was won on the defense end.

"You know, we always have a game plan like every game," he said.

"I'm really really proud of the guys, really happy with the performance.

"I thought except for a little small portion, I think the last five minutes of the third quarter, we really stuck to the game plan and carried it out (but) not to perfection. It's never gonna be perfect. It's an imperfect game, but You see you know, gave up 22 in the first quarter 16 in the second, 33 in the third, too many, but then we finished the game off with a 15-point quarter.

"So I'm really happy for the guys, the players. They did a great job, and hopefully we can build on this."

South East Melbourne started with an 8-0 but Adelaide answered with 10 of their own. The home side led 26-22 at quarter time but blew it out in the second period to be up 18 at the half — 56-38. The 36ers did make a run in the third period to get within 12 at 83-71 but it was never really close.

Walton Jr and Matt Hurt combined for 51 points on 20-from-32 from the field with Hurt a ridiculous 6-from-7 from three.

King only had praise for Hurt's performance.

"Matt's been great for us," King said.

"He's a baller. He just wants to help his teammates win the game. But he's been really consistent. He had another good performance tonight.

"But I don't know if he's, I have no idea who is in MVP race. I know, probably Bryce Cotton. (But) Matty's playing well because he can score on, they say, three levels.

"So he's got a nice outside shot. A lot of teams play drop coverage, so he's open from three. But he can score around the basket. He can finish with both hands. He can drive closeouts. He's just a really good player, and they can score multiple ways. There's not just one way that he can score. If you stop his shot, he can drive past you. He can finish with contact."

The blow-out was Adelaide 36ers forward and former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell's return to the John Cain Arena for the first time since his fine and suspension more than a month ago. It wasn't a particularly happy one with Matt Hurt doing a rock solid job, holding the star import to 15 points on 6-from-12 shooting to go with five rebounds.

Teammate Kendric Davis played a tough 36 minutes, dropping a team high 24 points on 8-from-15 from the field, grabbed six boards and had five assists.

Phoenix is now 9-9 after a terrible 0-5 start to NBL25, which cost head coach Mike Kelly his job. Since, they've gone 9-4 and have won four of their last five.

Meanwhile, the 36ers dropped to 7-9 and firmly in the bottom four.

What's Next

The Phoenix go on the road to top-of-the-ladder 10-5 Illawarra Hawks (Game Centre) on Tuesday, December 31, 2024.

King cliched "one-game-at-a-time" when he looked ahead to the Hawks but said he was prepared for a battle.

"They're number one on the table for a reason," he said.

"From top to bottom, they've got from the five to the one, obviously, they've got a lot of guard firepower. But so do we. It'll be a tough matchup on the road. I'm sure they're going to want to get revenge or whatever, but it'll be a big game.

"We've just got to be cracking on all side cylinders on both sides of the ball, defensively and offensively. They put you in tough spots because, especially with Harvey and Kel and these, and Froling at the five, it'll be a tough game.

"But I like our team, especially the way we're playing right now. If we do what we're supposed to do, we'll always have a chance to be in the game."

Adelaide has a quick back-up and a chance to put things right. The 36ers host the 8-8 Brisbane Bullets (Game Centre) on Tuesday, December 24, 2024 in a Christmas Eve retro rivalry. Four days later, on Saturday, December 28, 2024 they host the 10-8 Perth Wildcats — and red hot Bryce Cotton in their last game of the year (Game Centre).