Fabijan Krslovic missed a three-pointer on the full-time buzzer, allowing the Adelaide 36ers to launch the new NBL season by escaping with a pulsating 97-95 victory over Melbourne United at John Cain Arena.
Melbourne’s import sensation Cole Anthony, who scored 30 points in 22 minutes in a stunning debut on Saturday night, buried a massive three inside the last minute to trim the Sixers’ lead to two points, before United missed three late attempts, through Anthony himself, captain Chris Goulding and Krslovic.
Six-time league MVP Bryce Cotton paired 29 points with seven assists for Adelaide, while Zylan Cheatham added 18 points.
Melbourne’s other new American, Josh Oduro, scored 14 points, while Boomers legend Joe Ingles, playing his first NBL game since 2009 – a staggering 6399 days ago – posted 12 points and seven assists.
The 36ers’ tense win came at a cost, though, with starting guard Flynn Cameron rolling his right ankle early in the second half, joining centre Isaac Humphries (knee), off-season recruit Bul Kuol (knee) and import John Jenkins (back) on the sidelines.
The season opener got off to an exciting start when Cameron lobbed a no-look pass for an athletic Cheatham alley-oop dunk, 11 seconds in.
Adelaide led 25-23 at quarter-time and still narrowly held sway 49-48 at halftime, despite Ingles getting heavily involved in the second term.
The former NBA veteran finished smartly in the paint, dished crisp passes and got in his opponents’ face with his famed emotion.
Cotton had already scored 16 points by halftime and unsung Jacob Rigoni had eight as Adelaide edged ahead 49-48 at the main interval.
The Sixers moved ahead 63-55 on Cotton’s third three-pointer, before Anthony took over.
After surprisingly starting on the bench, Anthony showed why he was a first-round NBA draft pick in 2020, pouring in Melbourne’s next 13 points to help trim Adelaide’s advantage to 75-70 at three-quarter time.
Superstars Anthony and Cotton traded big buckets down the stretch, but the 36ers held on, despite Cameron’s absence and Nick Rakocevic fouling out.
