A CAREER-BEST night in the National Basketball League (NBL) from Josh Magette has led the Tasmania JackJumpers to a stirring 25-point triumph against the Adelaide 36ers at Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Friday night.

After being benched in the clutch stages of last week’s comeback triumph over the Bullets, Magette responded in style with a dominant offensive outing, exploding in the first quarter and chiming in for some big buckets as his side held on.

The 36ers were tipped as one of the title favourites coming into the season, thanks to some clever recruiting and a win over the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. However, Tassie’s point guard led the visitors to a red-hot start from behind the arc, and despite the 36ers getting their groove going as the game progressed, it was not enough.

Josh Magette vs. 36ers – 23 points, four rebounds, seven assists, four steals

From the opening possession, it was clear that Magette and the JackJumpers were on. The guard nailed the first score of the match, a three after big man Fabijan Krslovic dished out to a wide open Magette, who showed no hesitation. He then found teammate Milton Doyle wide open on the perimeter on the next possession as he pushed the ball across the top of the key to Tassie’s new import, who also made no mistake.

Magette then got involved on the defensive end, ripping the ball from the clutches of Antonius Cleveland, before going down the other end, pulling up from extremely deep and drilling his second triple of the night. Suddenly, Tasmania was up 9-0 and Magette was leading the charge.

With Adelaide’s defensive structures focussed on guarding the perimeter, he took full advantage of this and drove inside the lane for a lay-up, a veteran move. He chimed in for back to back threes with a couple of minutes to play in the first term, finishing the opening term, with 14 points, which is the best individual opening quarter performance from any player in JackJumpers history.

The JackJumpers cooled off a bit after the first term, but Magette still remained involved from downtown, nailing another three-pointer at a crucial time, as Adelaide began to push. With Cleveland paying close attention to him, Magette became a bit more of a distributor, making crucial passes that led to wide-open looks for his teammates.

He kicked off the second half with another steal, storming down the other end and converting the transition lay-up. As fatigue kicked in, Magette was not as accurate from the field, with a number of attempts proving wayward. Scoring just two points in the third term, his playmaking was still playing a crucial role for the Jackies as they held onto their lead with a quarter to go.

Magette recorded another crucial steal in the fourth quarter, which led directly to a wide-open three from Jarrad Weeks. Magette remained a passer, recording a pair of nice dimes before driving into the hoop and drawing contact. He headed to the free throw and drained both attempts, as Tasmania looked to put the exclamation point on the contest. Another assist to Doyle topped off what was a magnificent showing from Magette, who headed to the bench with two minutes to play, having led his side to their second win of the season.