Bryce Cotton has starred as the Adelaide 36ers rallied from a huge deficit to end New Zealand’s season and lock in a top-three seeding for the NBL finals.
The Sixers faced double-figure margins in all four quarters on Saturday and trailed the Breakers by as much as 18 points before halftime.
But they fought back behind Cotton’s game-high 42 points to register a thrilling 92-89 win at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
It lifted Mike Wells’ team back above Sydney into first place on the ladder with a 23-9 record, ahead of a tough clash with Perth in the last round of the regular season.
Cotton underlined his MVP credentials in another brilliant individual display, while Dejan Vasiljevic drained 19 points in a crucial contribution off the bench.
Zylan Cheatham produced an important double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, as well as eight assists.
Cotton gave a rallying cry to teammates at three-quarter time, inspiring their comeback in the final period.
“I told the guys every practice, every game from the start of the season has led up to this point,” Cotton said post-game.
“We had 10 minutes to see what we was gonna do (sic). We never gave up.
“I don’t think New Zealand could’ve shot any better, so I think it was a testament just to our team’s character.”
New Zealand (12-20) continued a run of near-misses against Adelaide this season, having held three-quarter time leads in three straight losses to their rivals.
Parker Jackson-Cartwright (25 points, seven assists) was outstanding for the Breakers, whose slim mathematical chance of catching sixth-placed Tasmania is now over.
Izaiah Brockington (19 points) and Robert Lee (14) also lifted for the short-handed visitors, who were without injured quartet Karim Lopez, Izayah Le’Afa, Rob Baker and Sam Mennenga.
Jackson-Cartwright fired early as New Zealand stunned their hosts in a hot start, scoring the first nine points and leading 29-16 at quarter-time despite 10 points from Cotton.
Wells was furious with his team, who shot the ball at just 30 per cent from the field through the opening 10 minutes.
Cotton had 19 by halftime, but Jackson-Cartwright had 14, including a pull-up jumper on the buzzer that gave his side a 50-39 buffer.
Cotton again played a lone hand in the third quarter as New Zealand extended their lead to 71-59, and it was a 14-point buffer when Jackson-Cartwright opened the scoring in the final period.
But Cotton stepped up another gear and DJ Vasiljevic gave the Sixers the lead for the first time in the game with a close-range bucket with 1:59 on the clock.
It hung in the balance until Cotton’s late triple and a pair of free-throws iced the game in the dying stages.
Adelaide and New Zealand meet again in the inaugural Ignite Cup final, to be played on the Gold Coast on February 22.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/basketball/cotton-fires-in-sixers-comeback-win-over-breakers-c-21638033
