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DON'T say you missed some of our NBL match-by-match reviews across Round 16? Well, if you did, here's a chance to sit back, relax and read them all together in our weekly NBL Wrap. Put your feet up and take it easy. We've done all the work compiling it and it's all here for you.

ADELAIDE 36ers forward Kyrin Galloway produced an NBL career-high 23 points, establishing a tone early which South East Melbourne never could match as the league's current bomb shelter resident fired off another warning shot its season as the league's easybeat is over.

And the Phoenix, very obligingly, raised their collective hands to say: "No, that's us. We're now the easybeats."

Elevated into a starter's role in the absence of injured import Jacob Wiley - that's why Wiley was MIA from the third quarter onwards in the Sixers' road loss in Cairns - Galloway's first two shots were 3-point bullets that drilled holes in South East's heart.

His next two buckets were power dunks, his immediate opponent, former 36ers captain and now regular Adelaide nemesis Mitch Creek, suddenly on notice Galloway was seizing his opportunity.

While Galloway was the wildcard for who the Phoenix had no strategy, Isaac Humphries responded to having his first shot attempt rejected by Gorjok Gak by again dominating the keyway, his game-high 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting.

If Scott Ninnis has done anything as the 36ers' interim coach - and it is evident in their play he has done plenty - having his team recognise Humphries is arguably the toughest big-man cover in the NBL has made a masterful difference to his team's fortunes.

Gak, starting in place of the also injured Alan Williams, didn't have a bad night. Humphries is just growing into his stature now his team gives him the ball.

With Trey Kell also picking his moments - his 21 points came on a mere eight field goal attempts, supplemented by 9-of-9 free throws - by the first break Adelaide had rattled off 34 points to lead by 23.

Creek (14 points on 6-of-14 shooting, five rebounds, two assists, three steals) was a rare non-factor, Reuben Te Rangi and Matt Kenyon again unable to raise the level of their play from (minor) role players to actual relevant factors. (Although Te Rangi did hit one monster end-of-quarter shot from centre. Maybe he thought there was a car on offer.)

Abdel Nader settled for too many awful 3-point attempts before realising taking it at the hoop would pay greater dividends, which it did.

Another 34-17 second quarter by the 36ers, with Jason Cadee also dropping a couple of long-range missiles, left South East Melbourne sinking without trace, the 36ers ahead 68-40 at halftime.

A 68-point half was something out of the box for the Sixers but Phoenix fans expecting some kind of response from the home team after the break were left disappointed, if they hadn't left altogether.

Ninnis had the chance to clear his bench and took it, a lead once as wide as 31 points reduced to an extremely comfortable and comforting 25-point blow out.

This was Adelaide's game from go-to-whoa, although the abysmal television commentary, which these days so regularly borders on the irrelevant, self-serving and annoying, rarely reflected it.   

It was mostly geared toward South East fans, with one of the microphonies even suggesting sympathy for the home team, which was missing "MVP-calibre players". The camera then panned to Williams and Craig Moller.

Williams is a terrific human being but a third import on a good team - which the Phoenix clearly are not - and if Moller is considered "MVP-calibre", then Bryce Cotton has to be some kind of God.

That's the kind of tripe the TV served up, but at least we didn't have the super-insightful stylings of Lanard Copeland educating us with "the smarter team will win" from one of his other recent efforts.

For 36ers fans, it was as frustrating as hearing nonstop about Sydney when Adelaide was humiliating the Kings last round. But that's the way it is now, which is why remotes have a mute button.

Galloway though, would not be muted, his 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting, with 5-of-7 threes, plus seven rebounds, a steal and a block. The young man was definitely making a statement.

ADELAIDE 36ERS 110 (Humphries 25, Galloway 23, Kell 21, Vasiljevic 11; Humphries, Kell, Galloway 7 rebs; Marshall, Cadee, Kell 4 assts) d SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 85 (Nader 18, Creek 14, Gak 12, Ayre 10; Gak 8 rebs; Foxwell, Ayre 3 assts) at State Basketball Centre. Crowd: 3,422

THEY went into the match without Sam Waardenburg, Bobi Klintman and Jonah Antonio, then had Akoldah Gak, Taran Armstrong and Tajhere McCall foul out, Bul Kuol and Lat Mayen on four fouls in a 28-16 disparity, and Illawarra shooting 32 free throws to Cairns' 11. It may not be the Taipans' greatest victory in their NBL life, but it's surely up there.

But there's not a lot of comfort in it for the Hawks, who, just like the 36ers last week when they were gifted a whopping 46 free throws against Cairns and made 39, Illawarra's 12 aborted freebies came back to bite hard.

To lose under those circumstances, and at home, and with Gary Clark posting a career-best 36 points and Next Star AJ Johnson putting on a show, was little short of shocking.

The Hawks had control early but surrendered it by going solo too often and taking off a number of defensive stands, certainly enough for Cairns to not only "hang around" but seize the initiative.

McCall was on his way to 28 points, six assists, seven rebounds, a steal and a block and Josh Roberts again was value-for-time-played with his 10 points gathered on a tidy 5-of-7 shooting.

And while the official stats credited Miller with the key rebound which set up the final shot, it was Roberts who tipped the rebound of Miller's slip-and-miss J for the win, clear and back to a chasing Miller, who dribbled, drew and dished to the wing near the corner.

That's where Mayen caught and released it, the siren sounding as his 3-pointer sailed through to send Cairns home 93-92 winners.

There was pandemonium among the Taipans, who must have felt as though they were competing against eight opponents for much of the night, three of them armed with whistles.

The final minutes screamed with theatre and drama, McCall keeping Cairns ahead 87-83 with 2:24 left.

A Todd Blanchfield free throw followed by a Tyler Harvey triple tied it up at 87-87, Clark securing back the lead with barely a minute remaining.

McCall tied it again, his bonus free throw completing the play for a 90-89 Taipans' lead.

Roberts blocked an attempt by Clark to win it, but Clark persisted with a second attempt he converted, McCall fouling out on the play. Clark's bonus free throw gave Illawarra a 92-90 edge, 12.3 seconds left, Cairns calling timeout.

Miller slipped taking a close-in jumper for the tie but Roberts rose up and Mayen took Miller's assist for his NBL career-first game winner.

It was an exceptional win for the Orange and a bitter blow for the surging Hawks who once again drew precious little of value from import playmaker Justin Robinson (0-of-7 from the floor).

It may be too late to show him the door but with Kyle Adnam now on the roster, William Hickey also in the wings, Harvey capable of handling the ball and Johnson - how good were his defensive board-push outs down the floor? - it might be a case of addition by subtraction.

CAIRNS TAIPANS 93 (McCall 28, Miller 16, Kuol 14, Mayen 11, Roberts 10; Gak 11 rebs; Armstrong, McCall 6 assts) d ILLAWARRA HAWKS 92 (Clark 36, Harvey 13, Swaka Lo Buluk 11, Blanchfield, Froling 10; Froling 11; Harvey 6 assts) at WIN Entertainment Centre. Crowd: 3,711

TASMANIA stalled its recent run of NBL outs with an NBL rout of league-leading United, Jordon Crawford back to his best before it was party time in the West, where Bryce Cotton was at his best as Perth gave Brisbane a lesson in teamwork and discipline, the Bullets humbled by 32 points.

Melbourne jumped the JackJumpers in an 11-1 start, Chris Goulding already swishing a pressured 3-pointer and the early signs grim.

Early signs - and Will Magnay coming in and picking up two fouls in record quick time - sometimes still can count for very little and this was just one such occasion, Jack McVeigh scoring and aggressive offensively to drag his team quickly back into the contest.

McVeigh (23 points at 50 per cent, 4-of-6 threes) and Crawford, subbed out after the opening minutes, then back to yield 25 points at 50 per cent and also with 4-of-6 threes, steadily turned the game around.

Ahead 24-22 after one, that built to 54-44 by halftime as Melbourne, down injured Shea Ili and Jo Lual-Acuil, struggled to find its usual rhythm and confidence.

Scott Roth's coaching, and he was reappointed this past week for three more years, had a lot to do with that as the Jackies exploited United's defensive strategies, catching them out on backdoor plays and generally playing with greater poise and purpose.

And that was despite star Milton Doyle offering precious little offensively, although his six assists were sublime and when he wanted to, he stuck two 3-pointers in rapid succession.

Let loose after sitting for most of the first half, Magnay had a block party at one end with three rejections, seven boards, six points and an assist playing just under 10 minutes.

Then it was Marcus Lee's turn to thrive against his former club, returning to the fray as Ariel Hukporti did for Melbourne, throwing down some massive dunks en route to a 13-point, 10-rebound double, with three assists and a steal.

Fabijan Krslovic, the third head on Tassie's centre-spot Medusa, also was at his best, gleaning eight rebounds, three assists, a steal and four points in 12 minutes.

Anthony Drmic with 16 points and harassing defence on Goulding also was value, United's Ian Clark and Luke Travers having coniptions defending Crawford.

The further this went, the worse it became for Melbourne, Tasmania's 25-14 third period completely ending this as a contest and opening the door for both teams to clear their benches late.

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 107 (Crawford 25, McVeigh 23, Drmic 16, Lee 13; Lee 10 rebs; Doyle 6 assts) d MELBOURNE UNITED 86 (Goulding 16, Clark 15, Hukporti 13, Travers 12, Dellavedova 11; Hukporti 8 rebs; Dellavedova 8 assts) at Mystate Bank Arena. Crowd: 4,340

IN Perth, this was over at quarter-time, despite Brisbane running a sweet baseline inbounds play Nathan Sobey completed with a corner 3-point basket for an opening 3-0 lead.

That was the point at which Bullets fans should have turned off their TV sets, Bryce Cotton simply taking hold of the game and with teammates hustling defensively, taking off for easy transition buckets and even Keanu Pinder knocking down long-range bombs, this just became uglier and uglier.

Not if you were a Wildcats fan, of course. For those at home and the near 13,000 at the venue - Perth fans love a winner - this was joyous and especially so considering Kristian Doolittle and Alex Sarr were not suiting up.

In fairness, Brisbane also was down Casey Prather, who was injured when he arrived in Australia, and Rocco Zikarsky though it is unlikely either or both would have made a huge amount of difference.

We were being treated to "Wildcats Basketball 2.0" and by midway through the first quarter, Brisbane was copping a technical foul as Perth bolted to lead 31-13 at the first break.

While Cotton was piling on points (28 at 63 per cent, 2-of-3 threes) and doling out assists (a game-high seven) and Tai Webster was continuing his recent run of hot form (20 points at 72 per cent, six assists), Hyrum Harris was an unsung hero.

Harris' 11 rebounds and five assists inspired those around him and coach John Rillie had the luxury of clearing his bench.

Even that paid well, Jack Andrew scoring his first NBL basket, much to the delight of the entire roster and roaring home crowd.

Perth shot at a brilliant 60 per cent and held Brisbane to 34 per cent, only Chris Smith with 15 points shooting better than 50 per cent.

PERTH WILDCATS 118 (Cotton 28, T.Webster 20, Pinder 15, Usher 11; M.Harris 11; H.Harris 11 rebs; Cotton 7 assts) d BRISBANE BULLETS 86 (Harrison 16, Smith 15, McDaniel 12, Sobey 11; Harrison 9 rebs; Scott 4 assts) at RAC Arena. Crowd: 12,836 

BACK in the day, if your basketball team forfeited a match, it went into the books as a 20-0 loss and your team additionally lost a championship point. Between them, the NBL's two losers - South East Melbourne and Illawarra - collectively gave their respective opponents a 20-0 start and never truly recovered.

For the Phoenix in New Zealand, it was the official end of any championship run or playoff hopes the club may still remotely have entertained.

Giving the Breakers an 11-0 start, they were never in the contest.

In Wollongong, Adelaide burst to a 9-0 start and Illawarra was kept in a game of catch-up, its hopes of post-season activity also taking a solid smack to the chin.

New Zealand kept itself in the top six conversation when it kept South East Melbourne scoreless for more than four minutes to tip off the game in Auckland.

Anthony Lamb was on his way to a 31-point haul, shooting it at a white hot 78 per cent (11-of-14) as the Breakers were fun to watch, steadily and methodically dismantling a Phoenix side devoid of direction and discipline.

Yes, everyone is aware Alan Williams is cooked for the season, joining Craig Moller on the sidelines for the duration of the 2023-24 campaign.

But is that any excuse to consistently produce such putrid performances? The entire offence seems to be either get it to Mitch Creek (27 points on 10-of-19 shooting) and hope for the best, or drive and hope for the best - a shot or a pass to a corner three attempt maybe.

No wonder Abdel Nader looks completely wasted in this team but then, oh yeah, that's right, he hasn't played for two years so what he needed most was a team with structure.

That sure as hell is NOT South East Melbourne. The Phoenix are now bordering on the unwatchable, they suck so badly.

Whoever made the decision to release Daniel Johnson when Gorjok Gak came back instead of retaining him as Moller's injury replacement should win the No-Ball Prize.

Matt Kenyon, Reuben Te Rangi, Rhys Vague and limport Gary Browne are role players at best and Ben Ayre is far too busy showing attitude instead of aptitude. The NBL1 beckons this crew.

But enough about this trainwreck.

The Breakers were simply fun to watch and enjoy. Lamb obviously was conspicuous but Tom Abercrombie turned the clock back a couple of times, Mantas Rubstavicius was efficient, Cam Gliddon knocked down a couple of threes and Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Will McDowell-White took a stride toward assuring doubters they can successfully co-exist.

Both had 13 points and seven assists. Between them that was one assist short of the entire Phoenix fiasco.

Ahead 25-10 at the first break, New Zealand just built on it, much to the delight of a raucous home crowd. By the time they produced a 29-12 final quarter, SEM had packed up and gone to the airport.

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 106 (Lamb 31, Rubstavicius 15, McDowell-White, Jackson-Cartwright 13, Cheatham 10; Mathiang 8 rebs; McDowell-White, Jackson-Cartwright 7 assts) d SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 75 (Creek 27, Gak 13, Kenyon, Ayre 7; Creek 7 rebs; Ayre, Te Rangi 4 assts) at Spark Arena. Crowd: 4,940 (*And no, "limport" was not a typo.)

TREY Kell's 10 free throw attempts in just the first quarter as Adelaide launched into Illawarra off a 9-0 start, reflected the 36ers' aggressive mindset ... and also just how poor the officiating has become since "zero tolerance" was introduced, protecting them from any public scrutiny and, therefore, accountability.

It's usually Cairns and New Zealand with the greatest cause for alarm at the mercy of officiating vagaries, but Illawarra and Adelaide are never far behind.

Phantom kicked ball call, goal tend ignored - this time it was the Hawks on the receiving end, a relief for Sixers fans for a change.

But enough about the NBL's growing and distressing sideshow. Adelaide went into Wollongong wanting this badly and succeeded in bringing Scott Ninnis' record as interim coach to 5-5.

Kell led the assault but Nick Marshall (career best 12 points at 67 per cent), Kyrin Galloway (13 points at 63) and Alex Starling (8 points at 80 per cent) all again elevated their games appropriately.

Dejan Vasiljevic delivered 14 points at 50 per cent and, after some early misses, Isaac Humphries - and his teammates - remembered in time how big a giant he has been recently and he stood up again.

Humphries won the pivotal duel with Sam Froling, scoring 18 points at 60 per cent, adding 10 rebounds and a block, most of his best work in the second half when the Hawks rallied.

Hyunjung Lee was the home team's inspiration. Whether hitting triples (he was 5-of-9 in his career-high 24-point return), blocking a shot or diving on a loose ball, he had teammates and fans alike vigorously showing their approval.

Sadly though, Justin Robinson again stank offensively, his 0-of-6 return making his Round 16 contribution 0-of-13 in two Illawarra defeats. It's not as if his defence or playmaking compensates. Time to hand him a plane ticket.

Tyler Harvey's 20 points came on 7-of-19 shooting with 3-of-10 threes. He remains mind-numbing in all the right AND all the wrong ways.

But Illawarra's biggest absentee was Gary Clark, clearly favouring his knee and never even a remote factor. The Hawks benchmen Lee, William Hickey (career-high 10 points at 80 per cent), AJ Johnson, Todd Blanchfield and Lachlan Olbrich outscored the stutters, er, starters, 49-40.

The win, Adelaide's fourth in its past five matches, brought it out of the bomb shelter where the Phoenix now will reside, that is unless someone on its remaining schedule forfeits.  

ADELAIDE 36ERS 96 (Kell 26, Humphries 18, Vasiljevic 14, Galloway 13, Marshall 12; Humphries 10 rebs; Marshall 3 assts) d ILLAWARRA HAWKS 89 (Lee 24, Harvey 20, Froling 14, Hickey 10; Froling 10 rebs; Harvey 4 assts) at WIN Entertainment Centre. Crowd: 3,555

BRYCE Cotton played traffic warden, guiding the Wildcats past Sydney's potentially dangerous streets while in Cairns, Aron Baynes fully embraced his villainous image, burying a 3-point back-breaker that consolidated Brisbane into the post-season, leaving the Taipans to rue their lost yo-yo year.

With its record at 11-13, Cairns has left itself zero margin for error over its last four games of the regular season, Brisbane now at 12-12 and staring at homecourt for the crucial "play-in" start to the playoffs.

Dropping at home, the Kings slipped to 11-12, their fate still very much in their own hands, Perth on 15-7 now within one win of first-placed Melbourne on 16-6, United also with a slight percentage edge.

IN Sydney, Cotton, en route to an almost routine 29-point, two-rebound, three-assist, four-steal stat line, started Perth rolling with an 11-point first period that created a stunning 34-20 buffer.

Tai Webster enjoyed a 12-point first half, hitting his first five shots, including two 3-pointers and Jordan Usher had a game, scoring 24 points at 67 per cent, with four rebounds, five assists and a steal.

Jaylen Adams (29 points at 50 per cent) worked hard to keep the Kings in the game but it was unheralded Makuach Maluach who changed Sydney's fortunes in the second quarter.

Teaming with an active Denzel Valentine (six rebounds, four offensive, eight assists), Maluach dragged Sydney back into the contest and before halftime it even had tasted the lead, Hyrum Harris restoring order for Perth, up 58-57 at halftime.

Sydney's 37-point second quarter was among its very best of the season and really came out of nowhere. The Kings continued to keep pace with Perth in the third quarter, pushing their noses in front a couple of times.

But as the Wildcats threatened to bolt away in the last, Sydney hung tough, Jordie Hunter wearing a few bruises as he compiled a 15-point (at 56 per cent), 12-rebound, 2-block afternoon.

Adams' jumper tied it at 92-92 with 2:37 left. Cotton immediately erased it with a 3-point swish, then Adams pulled up at the top of the key to tie it again with a 3-point dazzler of his own.

Inside the last two minutes, Harris again broke the deadlock with the third threeball in the sequence, Kristian Doolittle's free throws giving Perth back a buffer.

It was a fruitless but exciting chase from there, the Wildcats' sixth straight win bringing them breathing down a faltering United's back. 

PERTH WILDCATS 104 (Cotton 29, Usher 24, T.Webster 16, Pinder 10; Doolittle 7 rebs; T.Webster, Usher 5 assts) d SYDNEY KINGS 98 (Adams 29, Maluach 18, Hunter 15, Valentine 10; Hunter 12 rebs; Valentine 8 assts) at Qudos Bank Arena. Crowd: 13,138

BRISBANE drew a season-best game from Tyrell Harrison as it rocked Cairns' finals hopes with a 102-84 road win as comfortable as the scoreline looks.

Harrison was a focus as the Bullets jumped 26-17 clear by the close of the first quarter, then went on a 35-23 second quarter rampage, only Bul Kuol offering consistent resistance.

Still down Sam Waardenburg, Bobi Klintman and Jonah Antonio, the Taipans never led and fell behind by as many as 21 points.

Cairns suffered inside where Harrison concluded the day with 16 points at 63 per cent, plus 13 rebounds and a couple of steals.

Bullets coach Justin Schueller also utilised veteran warrior and currently Cairns' public enemy No.1, Aron Baynes, particularly efficiently.

Baynes' 15 points at a shade under 15 minutes, came at 67 per cent and were accompanied by eight rebounds and a block.

As is their way and showing a fighting spirit they shouldn't have to wait half a game to find, the Taipans slithered back, pruning a devastating 40-61 halftime deficit in the third quarter.

Akoldah Gak swished a 3-pointer, then made a layup and Tajhere McCall added a further bucket to bring Cairns from 42-63 to 49-63.

But 3:54 from the end of the third, Lat Mayen, who famously tangled with Baynes in their first meeting in Brisbane, again became entangled with the Bullets behemoth.

This time Mayen kept Baynes' arm unnecessarily tangled and the big man threw him to the floor in a flinging action to release his arm. It excited everyone for a minute or two, the refs shockingly getting it right and correctly assessing nothing more than a double-foul.

It shifted momentum though and when Nathan Sobey fed Mitch Norton for a layup to close the third, Brisbane was back to 79-62 clear.

Sam Mennenga's triple started another Cairns last quarter revival, Pat Miller joining in, his three-point play bringing the Orange to 71-81, the excitement spreading.

That was when the Taipans' favourite villain stepped up, knocking down an ungainly but effective 3-pointer from the top of the key, Baynes' triple making it 84-71, the Snakes cooked.

Baskets by Chris Smith and Casey Prather put this well out of Cairns' reach, McCall tossed out with another technical foul as local frustrations overflowed, Baynes still with time to stick another ugly "salt-in-the-wounds" three, clearly relishing his "bad boy" role.

BRISBANE BULLETS 102 (Sobey 18, Harrison 16, Baynes 15, McDaniel 14, Smith 11; Harrison 13 rebs; Sobey 5 assts) d CAIRNS TAIPANS 84 (Kuol 19, Miller 14, McCall 13, Gak 11; McCall 6 rebs; Miller 5 assts) at Cairns Convention Centre. Crowd: 4,601