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MATTHEW Dellavedova had a lifetime high, New Zealand rocked Sydney's boat, the Bullets fired up a record, Cam Bairstow was at his best and NBL Round 7 was memorable for many of the right reasons for a change. Delly's 33 points to lead United to a road win over Illawarra included 7 triples.

His performance easily was the individual highlight of the round as Dellavedova scored the most points by an Australian in United's history.

Delly's NBA high score was 21 for the Cleveland Cavaliers in a win over Detroit Pistons in 2014 and before that in 2012 at St Mary's College - where his uniform number eventually was retired - he enjoyed a 32-point game.

So his 33 points in the 88-84 win over Illawarra was not merely his NBL career high but his lifetime career best scoring return.

In Brisbane the Bullets swamped South East Melbourne with a 31-6 opening period, effectively making the next three quarters redundant. It was the biggest first quarter lead Brisbane has ever enjoyed in the club's long and rich history and includes not only its championship years but also the NBL's era of 12-minute quarters.

In Adelaide where the 36ers have had to wait a full calendar month - 31 days - for a shot at redemption after their meltdown in Cairns, Cam Bairstow looked every inch the beast fans expected him to be when he returned from the NBA.

No longer cruelled by injury, he was active at both ends as the Sixers stymied Perth, putting themselves back into the conversation as a playoffs contender.

 

 

 

   ROUND 7 WRAP

 

 

SYDNEY shot out of the blocks and was off to an 11-0 start in Wollongong, showing less rust from its 18-day lay-off than Illawarra did from its 25-days of absence and abstinence.

Once Antonius Cleveland kick-started the spluttering Hawks' offence, they climbed steadily back into the contest, Tyler Harvey (23 points, 6-of-7 threes, five assists) and Sam Froling big factors.

Froling had a double-double with 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting, 10 rebounds, but also had an assist, two steals and a block to often be in exactly the right place at the right time.

A noticeable lift in defensive intensity saw Illawarra take control in the second quarter before it was Sydney's turn to reel in the Hawks. Jarell Martin (23 points, 10 rebounds) and Xavier Cooks (16 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks) were big in that but it was a Shaun Bruce play that inspired his teammates ahead of halftime.

Diving for a loose ball near the top of the defensive key, he tapped it up to himself and out of the reach of any Hawk talons, then while still on the floor, threw a wicked long bounce pass for a Cooks' dunk and 48-49.

Not surprisingly, Sydney claimed the third quarter but equally unsurprising was the fact once Illawarra again focused on its defence, the Kings became paupers. A 22-11 final period sealed this for the home team as Sydney's last quarter rotations again left many scratching their noggins.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 97 (S. Froling 27, Harvey 23, Rathan-Mayes 16, Cleveland 11; S. Froling 10 rebs; Harvey 5 assts) d SYDNEY KINGS 89 (Martin 23, Swaka Lo Buluk 17, Cooks 16, Adams 14; Cooks 14 rebs; Adams 8 assts) at The Sandpit, WIN Entertainment Centre. Crowd: 1,994

* * *

MELBOURNE United captain Chris Goulding broke the 5,000-point barrier and Jo Lual-Acuil broke the Breakers' hearts with a 22-point, 13-rebound double-double as New Zealand fell 78-87 to the champs.

At "home" in Hobart, New Zealand had Peyton Siva and Jeremiah Martin firing in a torrid first half.

But with Goulding hitting some delightful bombs, one in particular off a wicked move which left his defender completely bamboozled and stranded, United's depth started to wear down New Zealand.

Typically now, the Breakers suffered a second-half fade-out and Melbourne seized full advantage, Shea Ili attacking and mesmerising his former club as United put the finishing tocuhes on its fifth straight win.

MELBOURNE UNITED 89 (Goulding 23, Lual-Acuil 22, Agada 16, Dellavedova 10; Lual-Acuil 13 rebs; Dellavedova 5 assts) d NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 78 (Martin 20, Siva 19, Besson 17; Wetzell 9 rebs; Siva 5 assts) at MyState Bank Arena. No crowd allowed.

* * *

OFF to a 13-0 start in a record-making 31-6 first period, Brisbane was never seriously challenged by a South East Melbourne Phoenix showing all the signs of its COVID afflications and lack of game-play in 28 days.

The Bullets had similar problems of their own in their previous outing, and this time with the tables turned, took full advantage, Tyrell Harrison setting the early pace inside and Brisbane scoring freely through Nathan Sobey, Robert Franks, Anthony Drmic and off the creativity of Lamar Patterson.

The lead blew out to as many as 31 but to its credit, South East battled as gamely as it could muster to the final siren, which, let's be blunt, was something of a relief.

The Phoenix's six-point first quarter is their lowest ever single quarter return.

For Bullets coach James Duncan, his biggest problem was spreading the centre-man minutes, Harrison worthy of much more than his 18:17 for 10 points at 63 per cent, seven rebounds and a block, but Jack Salt also worth more time and Chuanxing Liu also gifted a few minutes to excite fans for his matchup with Zhou Qi.

BRISBANE BULLETS 100 (Sobey 18, Franks 17, Drmic 14, Patterson 12, Harrison 10; Franks 10 rebs; Patterson 9 assts) d SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 84 (Creek 19, Munford 17, Adnam, Broekhoff 13, Le'Afa 12; Creek 8 rebs; Munford 6 assts) at The Armoury, Nissan Arena. Crowd: 2,389

* * *

WHO said Matthew Dellavedova has no offence? Not anyone who saw him record United's highest single-game score by an Aussie with his 33 points in the road win over Illawarra.

Delly's 33 came at 61 per cent, his 7-of-11 threes at an even better 63 per cent! For good measure, he also had nine assists and four rebounds.

Whether he had something to prove or something he wanted to show Hawks (and Boomers' Tokyo Olympic) coach Brian Goorjian or not, he made a personal statement, loading Melbourne onto his back and leading them to their sixth straight win.

And even though the margins stayed tight, Melbourne always appeared to own the upper hand, Caleb Agada again amazing for 15 rebounds with his 13 points, Jo Lual-Acuil with an 11-11 points-rebounds double, plus four blocks.

Harry Froling stepped up offensively with brother Sam shut down, though the latter still worked for his 15 rebounds. Tyler Harvey again went solo down the stretch for Illawarra and the last three minutes were a mess of bad decisions and see-it-to-believe-it madness by both teams.

The Hawks had their chances late as United squandered a couple of opportunities to ice it from the line. But Melbourne twice secured offensive rebounds off those misses and for that there was no home excuse.

MELBOURNE UNITED 88 (Dellavedova 33, White 14, Agada 13, Lual-Acuil 11; Agada 15 rebs; Dellavedova 9 assts) d ILLAWARRA HAWKS 84 (Jessup 18, H. Froling, Reath, Cleveland 14, S. Froling 15 rebs; Rathan-Mayes 5 assts) at the Sandpit, WIN Entertainment Centre. Crowd: 1,753

* * *

AFTER leading the league's last-placed team from virtually start-to-finish and still cruising ahead 74-64 into the home straight, Sydney was overwhelmed by New Zealand's desire to snatch this W.

Finn Delany was magnificent in leading a stunning 18-1 Breakers' charge to the siren, Hugo Besson also chipping in when it most mattered.

Peyton Siva was effective all game and when the crunch came, as it inevitably would, he also stood tall.

Xavier Cooks (19 points at 72 per cent, 13 rebounds) was superbly tough for Sydney and one of the key reasons the Kings led for most of this contest.

But once Siva's triple put NZ in front, it had a sniff of victory and was quickly intoxicated by it, the Kings out of ideas and seemingly defenceless to stall the onslaught.

Jeremiah Martin completed some big plays but then, as is his trait, also made some boneheaded decisions. Yes, he was wide open for the 3-point shot he unnecessarily took early in the shot-clock and with the game still poised on a razor's edge.

He was 1-of-7 from deep at that point so there was a reason he was so open. His airball only confirmed a smart Sydney scout. Then he was out of control at mid-court with the ball, barrelling into Shaun Bruce for a charge.

It wasn't a charge, Bruce no-where near set and the call clearly a block. Dan Shamir's Coach's Challenge, er, Director of Basketball's Challenge, was successful so the Breakers didn't cough up the ball on that one. Martin just looked out of control because he was.

It still wasn't a charge though, the Breakers blowing out the final margin from the stripe.

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 82 (Martin 22, Delany 21, Siva 17, Besson 12, Wetzell 10; Delany 9 rebs; Siva 5 assts) d SYDNEY KINGS 75 (Cooks 19, Vasiljevic 13, Martin 11, Adams 10; Cooks 13 rebs; Bruce 5 assts) at the Kingdome, Qudos Bank Arena. Crowd: 4,356

* * *

YOU just know the 36ers are fired up when Mitch McCarron opens the match against arch rival Perth with a 3-point swish.

That was as close as the Wildcats would come as McCarron toyed with a triple double (10 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists), Daniel Johnson paired eight boards with a game-high 21 points and Cam Bairstow showed again what a good decision rookie coach CJ Bruton made in throwing him a career lifeline.

Bairstow paired 19 points at 67 per cent with 10 rebounds, plus had two steals, two blocks - one of which led a frustrated Vic Law to earn at technical foul - and even took a charge.

Just before the first break, the 36ers were 29-10 clear before Perth's Michael Frazier sank a triple, but the onslaught continued as Adelaide in the second period swept from 34-16 to 44-16 on a 10-0 run.

It was still ahead by 28 at 46-18 and it was going to take some true Wildcat wizardry for Perth to get out of this. But then, it is Perth.

By the last change, Perth cut the deficit back to nine after a struggling Bryce Cotton drove, dished the ball to Jesse Wagstaff on a wing, who threw a behind-the-back pass to Kevin White for a corner triple.

But fears of a similar Perth fightback to one last season when it overhauled Adelaide from 26 down steadily were allayed as the Sixers effectively buried the memory of their previous crash in Cairns.

ADELAIDE 36ERS 87 (Johnson 21, Bairstow 19, Dech, McCarron 10; McCarron 12 rebs; McCarron 8 assts) d PERTH WILDCATS 74 (Law 16, Cotton 12, Frazier 10; Law 14 rebs; Frazier 4 assts) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Crowd: 4,758

* * *

WHAT WE LEARNT

*Vaughan Mayberry always knows just where the cameras are when he's delivering the "Coaches Challenge" outcome;

*Commentators would rather fixate on Chase Buford's hair than on his mystery player rotations;

*The Breakers make pink look pretty good;

*Jeremiah Martin thinks he's Tyler Harvey in the end-game;

*It remains a total mystery why no-one in any Hungry Jack's advert, EVER, actually takes a bite from a burger;

*TV callers using terms such as "D-trans", "carry a hand", "ghost screen," "up top, they're running an all-horns formation" are in a fantasy land of their own knowledgable brilliance if they truly believe the average NBL viewer has a clue what these things mean;

*Matthew Dellavedova's offensive skills aren't always ugly;

*Tyler Harvey believes there is only ONE option down the straight of a close game and he knows exactly who it is;

*Jeremiah Martin believes there is only ONE option down the straight of a close game and he knows exactly who it is;

*Never expect either of them to pass the ball in the final countdown;

*Ousmane Dieng should not only be dumped from NZ's starting quintet - is it in his contract he starts? - but only play similar minutes to your average DP. His minutes are always costly and the return minimal;

*Chase Buford should check the fine print of his coaching contract;

*Andrew Gaze has either forgotten what the difference is between a charge and a block or he still feels an emotional attachment to Sydney Kings;

*Someone should inform TV caller Dwayne Russell that we heard him the FIRST time he told us Adelaide had not played in 31 days, that Perth is top of the league, that the 36ers trailed by 40 in their previous game and that they led Perth by 28 "in this one". Thank you Dwayno. WE HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME! Guess the other 16 were a bonus;

*All-time great finish to a quarter. Really? All-TIME? Someone on the TV call is out of control; 

*Sunday Dech only needs a slivver of backboard to sneak a 3-point shot from the corner "off the glass";

*That the scout is out on Dusty Hannahs, with Mitch Norton, Kevin White, then Mike Kelly, two ushers and one T-shirt salesmen all driving past him the moment they had the ball;

*Matt Hodgson is still popular in Adelaide ... at least when he aborts two free throws and gives fans a cheeseburger;

*Adelaide could contend if it could upgrade its imports, arguably its worst ever pairing ... not counting last season.

OK OK, NO NEED TO CALL: Apologies I forgot you, and the other guy.