THE ninth round of National Basketball League (NBL) games saw the matchup of two young up and coming American stars do battle across the Tasman, whereas Sydney further established themselves at the top of the table with an impressive performance against Melbourne United. The South East Melbourne Phoenix regained third spot in the standings and Adelaide’s imposing display against title contenders Perth, saw them close the gap on the top four.

Cairns Taipans (93) defeated Melbourne United (86)

Despite the Taipans’ low-lying position in the NBL standings, the boys from the far-north continue to prove that they are one of the most exciting teams to watch in the league, as they came out victors against fourth placed Melbourne United on Friday night. Contrary to only outscoring United in two quarters of play, Cairns’ second and third quarters were headlined by their starting five’s ability to find the target from deep, namely from Scott Machado and DJ Newbill who finished the game with three and two three-pointers from behind the arc respectively. Nevertheless, a Melbourne United outfit who had six players reaching double digits showcased promising signs. Firstly, United showed their depth in consistency across all positions. Secondly, their backcourt’s effectiveness, which put up prolific numbers in Friday’s loss was also solid. Melo Trimble and Shawn Long both finished with 16 points, while Chris Goulding was deadeye with 19 points. However, for Cairns, there was no doubt that Cameron Oliver was the key difference for the matchup, as he dominated at both ends of the floor. He summarised his game with 26 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. Other key contributors for the Taipans were Kouat Noi (five points and 13 rebounds) and Majok Deng (15 points and four rebounds).

DC Medal: 3 – Cameron Oliver (CT), 2 – Shawn Long (MU), 1 – Scott Machado (CT)

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New Zealand Breakers (91) defeated Illawarra Hawks (79)

Spark Arena saw the face-off of the NBL’s two bottom teams, the Breakers and the Hawks. It also saw the matchup of the two American imports that 8,474 people wanted to see, RJ Hampton and LaMelo Ball. Those who attended were not disappointed and the Breakers were really feeling the home-court advantage, as they punished Illawarra for the first three quarters leading by as much as 21. But Illawarra, who had only three wins going into Saturday’s contest, would not go down that easy. Led by Ball, who would go on to finish with a consecutive triple-double (25 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists), ignited a late push cutting the lead to a mere five points in the space of six minutes. However, big fourth quarter plays from New Zealand’s Hampton (12 points and four rebounds) and Brandon Ashley (10 points and 14 rebounds) would be enough to get the Breakers over the line and hand the Hawks their ninth loss of the season.

DC Medal: 3 – LaMelo Ball (IH), 2 – Finn Delany (NZ), 1 – Brandon Ashley (NZ)

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Brisbane Bullets (95) defeated by South East Melbourne Phoenix (110)

The Phoenix who have undergone a stream of losses losing five of their past seven games were able to get back into the winner’s circle and get their head above the .500 mark again this season. South East Melbourne put the hammer down on their shot selection from the first whistle to the last, shooting a stellar 59% from the field led by Ben Madgen who racked up 23 points going 9-14 in his 30 minutes of play. A surprise performance for the Phoenix was 26-year-old Kyle Adnam who had 16 points with a 75 percent efficiency rate. The Bullets who seemed almost unnoticeable in front of their home crowd shot below 50 percent still led at the end of the first half, but dropped off severely in the quarters to follow, getting outdone 34 to 57 on the scoreboard to finish the game. Despite Nathan Sobey’s 14 points off the bench, only three of Brisbane’s players in the starting five were able to crack double digits. However, Lamar Patterson came away one assist short of a double-double (14 points and nine assists). Mitch Creek for the Phoenix culminated his performance in providing 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

DC Medal: 3 – Ben Madgen (SEM), 2 – Mitch Creek (SEM), 1 – Lamar Patterson (BB)

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Sydney Kings (111) defeated Melbourne United (101)

The top team in the National Basketball League once again staked its claim as this season’s favourites, coming away with a convincing 10-point victory over Melbourne United. The win continued the Kings’ impressive unbeaten record at Qudos Bank Arena, extending the streak to six straight. From the outset the Kings looked the part of ‘top-dog’, with an impressive 35 point opening quarter, giving them a 10-point buffer early in the contest. The momentum would carry over to the end of the half capped off with a Casper Ware dagger on the buzzer, giving an indication of what the rest of the game would have in store. Exceptional scoring from the Kings’ two main hitmen, Ware and forward Jae’sean Tate (27 and 25 points for each) were instrumental in the top-of-the-table team’s win, which further separates them from the rest of the league. The win has the Kings three and a half games ahead of Perth Wildcats who had their hands full with the 36ers on Sunday. United’s efforts relied solely on their guard Trimble who was on the money through four quarters, securing 32 points and five assists in 30 minutes of court-time. The loss for Melbourne allows cross-town rivals SE Melbourne Phoenix to regain third spot on the table, which sets up for some pivotal games in the coming rounds for both sides.

DC Medal: 3 – Casper Ware (SK), 2 – Melo Trimble (MU), 1 – Jae’Sean Tate (SK)

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Perth Wildcats (88) defeated by Adelaide 36ers (99)

The last matchup between the Wildcats and the 36ers took place only 16 days prior to Sunday’s contest, where there was a total of 16 lead changes. But, the storyline this time in Perth was nowhere near a similar tale. The Wildcats led for a total of five minutes in the first quarter with only three lead changes occurring, and after seven and a half minutes of play 36ers forward Eric Griffin made the layup to put his team in front by two and did not look back.  The main reason being, the formidable duo of guard Jerome Randle, who holds a respectable record at the RAC Arena, finished with 20 points and eight assists, and big-man Daniel Johnson who dominated at both ends of the floor amassed 29 points and 17 big rebounds. Perth’s offence as a whole was lacking, converting a mere 31 of their 77 attempts, with the standout shooter alone being Bryce Cotton with 18 points. The 36ers win continues their four-game winning streak and puts them half a game out of the top-four trailing Melbourne United.  The 36ers will face United next Saturday at Melbourne Arena for a blockbuster game of the week.

DC Medal: 3 – Daniel Johnson (AD), 2 – Jerome Randle (AD), 1 – Bryce Cotton (PW)

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DC Medal Leaderboard:

20 – LaMelo Ball (IH)
19 – Shawn Long (MU), Mitch Creek (SEM),
18 – Lamar Patterson (BB), Bryce Cotton (PW)
17 – Casper Ware (SK), Melo Trimble (MU)
16 – Jae’Sean Tate (SK)
15 –
14 – Cameron Oliver (CT),
13 – Daniel Johnson (AD)
12 –
11 – Andrew Bogut (SK), Nick Kay (PW), Scott Machado (CT),
10 – John Roberson (SEM)
9 – Corey Webster (NZ)
8 – Eric Griffin (AD)
7 – Jerome Randle (AD)
6 – Nathan Sobey (BB), Kouat Noi (CT)
5 – Aaron Brooks (IL), Scotty Hopson (NZ), Terrico White (PW), Brad Newley (SK)
4 – Chris Goulding (MU), Dario Hunt (PW), Brandon Ashley (NZ),
3 – AJ Ogilvy (IL), Sek Henry (NZ), Dane Pineau (SEM), Didi Louzada (SK), Anthony Drmic (AD), Ben Madgen (SEM)
2 – Matt Hodgson (BB), Jason Cadee (BB), Sunday Dech (IH), David Barlow (MU), Mitch McCarron (MU), DJ. Newbill (IL), Tim Coenraad (IH), Finn Delany (NZ)
1 – Majok Deng (CT), Craig Moller (SK), Jesse Wagstaff (PW), Todd Blanchfield (IH), Keith Benson (SEM), Tohi Smith-Milner (MU), RJ Hampton (NZ)