Banged up Melbourne United leant on its much-vaunted depth and a vintage performance from evergreen veteran Brad Newley to blow away the Adelaide 36ers Sunday.
Entering the game without gun import Caleb Agada, who contracted Covid-19 and was placed in protocols on Saturday, United stars Matthew Dellavedoxjmtzywva and Chris Goulding were hampered by early injury concerns.
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As that pair struggled, 37-year-old Newley wound back the clock, taking it on himself to get in the lane and get to the basket, pacing United with 15 points in the monstrous 27-point win.
United, in their multicultural round game, had six players in double-digits and 10 with at least six as they rattled up 103 points to the Sixers’ 74.
The Carlton fan was buoyant after his AFL side got the round-one Richmond monkey off the back Thursday night and it showed out in his play.
“Felt pretty good,” Newley said after the game.
“It all started Thursday night when the mighty Blues got up.
“It just brought some good vibes. Then my wife came to town.
“(There’s) just good energy around the place at the moment and what a good win for our multicultural game.”
With Delly felled in the first half, defensive dynamo Shea Ili answered the call with 10 first-half points as coach Dean Vickerman went to the well with Kiwi Dion Prewster (8 points, 6 rebounds) called on to play meaningful minutes for the first time this season.
Early on, Goulding experienced tightness in his hamstring and, while it didn’t appear to hamper his movement, he struggled with his shot in the first half, missing seven of his eight shots. He turned provider, dealing four assists before the long break, and then he sparked United’s third-quarter surge, with eight points in the period.
Dellavedova rolled his ankle in the first three minutes of the game and did not return to the court until the start of the second half. He shook off the injury, though, and hit back-to-back threes to open the fourth quarter and effectively kill off any thoughts of a late Sixers’ miracle.
Having an MVP candidate like Jo Lual-Acuil is also handy, the big man a load on the inside with 15 points and 9 rebounds.
Vickerman said United had to weather the early injury shock by shuffling the decks but was pleased with how his bench players stood up.
“What we were hoping from this game, with Caleb out, was to challenge our depth at that position,” Vickerman said.
“I’ve got CG and Delly both looking at me (early in the game) that wanted a sub and had injuries, so wasn’t quite the start we wanted.
“We
wanted more from Newley today and I thought, through the periods we were down or really close, he did a great job of putting his feet in the paint and was really good shooting the three ball.
“Dion Prewster, since coming back from national team duties, has really been great in practice, so (it was a) great reward for him to play close to 19 minutes and be really solid.
“Zac Triplett showed what he’s going to be able to do in that league, he’s a super threat behind the three-point line.
“There’s real positives about just increasing our depth a little bit more with the challenges we had.”
It was a huge let-down for an Adelaide team coming off its best performance of the season — an 83-57 demolition of Cairns.
But United are the real snakes and they bit hard in Mitch McCarron’s first game at John Cain Arena since he was part of the Melbourne side that won last year’s NBL title.
It was an unhappy homecoming for McCarron, who scored eight points as his side lost its seventh-straight road game.
The Sixers led at quarter time and were within five at the half but coach CJ Bruton said United’s physicality proved too much for his team.
“I’d like to think that first quarter … we set the tone right, we executed pretty well and made some tough buckets,” Bruton said.
“In the second half … I told the boys that we got a little sloppy and a little rushed and we looked a little panicky and they took us out of our stuff.
“They played physical, they got into us a little bit more as the game went on and then it became the hard slog.”
After recently being injected into the starting line up, pint-sized Tad Dufelmeier has given the 36ers some scoring punch. The 183cm point guard has serious bounce and used it to put in 11 points to go with five rebounds, while old reliable Daniel Johnson led the way with 18.
Both teams will enjoy a week between games as United hosts the surging Illawarra Hawks Sunday, while struggling South East Melbourne will visit Adelaide.
Vickerman said both Dellavedova and Goulding were expected to play against the Hawks on Sunday, as was David Barlow, who will return from an ankle injury.
Royal NBA bloodlines in the building
Among the 5814 fans in the John Cain Arena crowd was Boston scout — and son of Celtics architect Danny — Austin Ainge. There were a number of potential NBA prospects in action, headlined by mercurial United Next Star Ariel Hukporti. Adelaide’s Filipino tower Kai Sotto is also a kid with plenty of potential. There is plenty of buzz around the improved Lual-Acuil and then there’s Delly. Anyone need a dogged defender with NBA championship experience who never gives up?
Sixers’ import woe
Adelaide has one eye on next season after it whiffed on both its imports in NBL22. Todd Withers and Dusty Hannahs came off the bench and, while neither was the focal point of the offence, they played like they’d mailed in the season. In 10 minutes of court time the only statistic Withers had recorded was a turnover. Hannahs wasn’t much better, missing six of his seven shots for four points in 16 minutes. Diabolical stuff, although Withers gets a mulligan, given he was in Covid protocols in the lead up to the game.
Cleanliness is next to godliness
Video emerged last week of McCarron helping clean up rubbish in the bleachers at Adelaide Arena and it turns out the 36ers’ have a penchant for cleanliness as a team. During the second quarter as the court kids went to work on wiping sweat off the floor, coach CJ Bruton took it upon himself to grab a rag and help with the clean-up to get the game moving.
SCOREBOARD
Melbourne United 101-74 Adelaide 36ers
Crowd: 5814 @ John Cain Arena
United
Lual-Acuil: 15 points, 9 rebounds
Newley: 15 points, 4 rebounds
White: 12
Sixers
Johnson: 18 points, 4 rebounds
Sotto: 12 points, 4 rebounds
Dufelmeier: 11 points, 5 rebounds
