Phoenix light it up despite Deng's 36

The South East Melbourne Phoenix withstood 20 first quarter points from Majok Deng and played at a blistering pace while knocking down 20 three-pointers to stay right in the top two mix beating the Tasmania JackJumpers 120-104.

With both teams gearing up to be part of the finals now and the Phoenix trying to break back into the top two and the JackJumpers locked into sixth, they put on quite a show at John Cain Arena.

They combined for 66 points in the first quarter in a blistering start and 20 of those went the way of the JackJumpers from Deng as he continued to make up for the absence of Will Magnay.

He would end up with a career-high 36 points on 11/14 shooting from the field, 4/6 from three-point territory and 10/10 at the foul line too, but the Phoenix just had too many weapons.

South East Melbourne put up 70 points across the second and third quarters to end up leading by as much as 26 points on the way to winning by 16 while knocking down 20/46 from three-point range.

Angus Glover was 7/10 from long-range for a total of 21 points for the Phoenix with another four players making multiple three-pointers and it was the highest score the JackJumpers have ever conceded.

The result gave third-placed South East Melbourne a 22-10 record ahead of a showdown with cross-town rivals Melbourne United to finish the regular season.

It was the 17th time in 32 games they have put up 100 points this season, 11th with more than 110 and fourth of 120 or more with 46 of their 79 shot attempts from behind the three-point arc.

Ian Clark also went 4/7 from downtown for 14 points with Nathan Sobey adding 19 points and nine assists despite going 2/10 from deep freshly after re-signing.

Malique Lewis had 15 points and five assists, John Brown III 11 points, three rebounds and three steals, Jordan Hunter 11 points and four boards, and Akech Aliir 11 points, six assists and five rebounds.

Wes Iwundu also went 3/6 from deep for nine points and Owen Foxwell 2/5 for nine points, five assists and four rebounds.

Despite their loss, Tasmania (14-18) qualified for the finals after New Zealand failed to beat Adelaide earlier in the day.

They will finish sixth and take on either Perth or Melbourne in a first-up elimination clash.

Along with Deng's 36 points and nine rebounds, Josh Bannan had 15 points and 10 boards, Anthony Drmic 11 points on 4/5 shooting, and Tyger Campbell 10 points and nine assists.

Deng had 26 points on 8/9 shooting in a free-scoring roller-coaster of a first half, and Tasmania led by as much as nine points.

But they trailed 67-56 at the main break as the Phoenix lit it up from long range, draining 14/24 three-point attempts.

The home side were 59 per cent from the field at that point, to the visitors' 54 per cent.

Jordan Hunter landed a vicious one-handed slam over Bannan to give South East Melbourne momentum in the third quarter, and a 14-0 run blew the contest wide open.

Both teams now have just one game to go in their regular seasons with the Phoenix having a Throwdown with Melbourne United on Thursday and before that, the JackJumpers host the Illawarra Hawks on Wednesday night.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2025/26 – ROUND 21

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 120 (Glover 21, Sobey 19, Lewis 15)

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 104 (Deng 36, Bannan 15, Marshall 13)

BOX SCORE