TUESDAY night saw Round 7 of the National Basketball League (NBL) conclude with the Adelaide 36ers and the Perth Wildcats going head-to-head at Adelaide Entertainment Centre. The round was initially set to conclude tonight with the Tasmania JackJumpers and the New Zealand Breakers, but this game was postponed due to a COVID outbreak in the Breakers camp.

Fans were still treated to an upset win, with the 36ers shocking the competition to hand the Wildcats their first loss since Round 2. It was a season defining victory for Adelaide, who burst out of the gates to claim a 21-point lead at half time. As expected, the Wildcats produced a fightback in the second half, but Adelaide proved strong enough to hold off their opponents and walk away with a 13-point win.

In this article, we take a look at some of the key stats that shaped the result of the game, with Adelaide excelling in a number of areas in the win.

Team Stats:

	The Stats
29/71 (40%)	FG	28/74 (37%)
18/42 (42%)	2P	21/44 (47%)
11/29 (37%)	3P	7/30 (23%)
18/19 (94%)	FT	11/20 (55%)
50	REB	41
15	AST	14
2	STL	7
3	BLK	2
14	TO	9

The stats above show that one of the main reasons the 36ers were able to gain ascendancy throughout the match was their shooting numbers. While the teams sunk a similar number of shots from the field, Adelaide was able to connect on four more attempts from the three-point line. Another key shooting statistic was the efficiency from the free throw line. The Wildcats made their way to the charity stripe more times than their opponents, but were brought undone by their accuracy.

They missed nearly half of their attempts from the free throw line, only sinking 11 of 20. On the other hand, their opponents made the most of these opportunities, with 18 of their 19 free throws finding the bottom of the net. Had Perth converted a few more of these chances, they would have come a lot closer to producing an almighty comeback victory.

The 36ers were also able to win the crucial rebounding battle, with the victors pulling down nine more boards than their opponents. Adelaide had plenty of contributors on this front, with three players pulling down eight or more rebounds. Forwards Daniel Johnson and Cameron Bairstow recorded eight and 10 boards respectively, while point guard Mitch McCarron led all comers with 12. McCarron also flirted with the idea of a triple double, recording 10 points and eight assists in a typically all-round performance.

Top Points Scorers:

Daniel Johnson (21)	Victor Law (16)
Cameron Bairstow (19)	Bryce Cotton (12)
Mitch McCarron/Sunday Dech (10)	Michael Frazier (10)

Johnson was the star of the show as the only player to top 20 points for the match, doing most of his damage in the first half. While he was slightly inaccurate inside the three-point line, the forward lit it up from behind the arc with three shots from downtown. He was also able to make his way to the free throw line six times, and did not waste any of these opportunities, making all six shots. His fellow forward in Bairstow was also impressive, recording a massive double-double to arguably become the strongest performer. He was efficient from both inside the paint and behind the three-point line, and was able to affect the play on the other end of the court, recording two blocks.

The dynamic duo of Law and Cotton was well-contained by their standards, combining for just 28 points in the loss. This is even more impressive considering Law dropped 37 points on the 36ers earlier in the season, so it is clear that the victors put more effort into restricting his movements with ball in hand. It is typically expected that one of these two players will drop at least 20 points every match, so this likely has a lot to do with why the team were unable to get themselves going at the start of the match.