36ers end rut by unwrapping an NBL win over the Bullets (2024)

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36ers end rut by unwrapping an NBL win over the Bullets

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Dec 24, 2023, 12:31 AM ET

Scott Ninnis barely managed to hold back tears after securing his first win as Adelaide 36ers interim coach, beating the Brisbane Bullets 95-88 on Christmas Eve.

The last-placed Sixers had to overcome a Nathan Sobey masterclass to break their four-game losing streak at a sold-out Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Sunday.

Tokyo Olympian Sobey poured in a career-high 36 points against his old side, single-handedly giving the Bullets a sniff of success.

Dejan Vasiljevic (23 points) top-scored for the Sixers for the seventh straight game, while imports Jacob Wiley (21 points, 12 rebounds) and Trey Kell (18 points) stood tall.

Ninnis, who had previously coached the 36ers from 2008-10, had been in the NBL coaching wilderness more than a decade before taking the reins from CJ Bruton earlier this month.

"Relief is the overwhelming emotion at the moment," said Ninnis, who turns 58 on Christmas Day.

"I don't get emotional after basketball games because I've been involved in that many over the years ... but that was an emotional one.

"I held it together, but only just.

"I look forward to getting home tonight, having a quiet glass of red and I might even shed a tear or two."

Wiley fired Adelaide to a 7-0 head start, forcing Bullets coach Justin Schueller to burn a time-out barely a minute into the contest.

Sobey drove Brisbane's response, scoring 12 first-quarter points to give the visitors the lead before the Sixers recaptured the momentum to take a 27-23 advantage into quarter-time.

Vasiljevic started the second term with a pair of triples to stretch Adelaide's advantage to double digits.

After a quiet first half, Kell enjoyed a strong third quarter to extend the 36ers' cushion to 11 points before a 7-0 Brisbane burst either side of the last break trimmed the margin to four points.

Wiley piloted Adelaide back ahead by nine points in the fourth before Sobey and big Tyrell Harrison led another Bullets surge.

Harrison scored seven points - two dunks and a three-point play - in 37 seconds, sandwiching a missed dunk from Sixers centre Isaac Humphries and an errant layup from Kell, to suddenly tie the scores.

Adelaide had the final say, though, with three-point bombs from Vasiljevic and Kell combined with an unsportsmanlike foul on Brisbane forward Josh Bannan enough to see the home side prevail.

"Sobes was outstanding from start to end but as a coach I've got to find a way to get more out of more people," Bullets coach Justin Schueller said.

"That's been a challenge for us in these last couple."