Sixers overpower gritty Bullets

Sparked by Hunter Maldonado, the shorthanded Brisbane Bullets threw the gauntlet down to the Adelaide 36ers and the league-leaders responded on the back of Bryce Cotton's 21 second half points to win 97-86.

The Bullets were back home at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre and while they gained the services of injury replacement import guard Maldonado, they lost imposing centre Tyrell Harrison and import Javon Freeman-Liberty after the New Year's Day loss to Perth.

Then it was the top-of-the-table Adelaide arriving on Sunday afternoon but it was a different looking Bullets outfit with Maldonado providing a spark in a terrific first half.

He had eight points and five assists with the Bullets leading 45-38 at half-time with five-time MVP Cotton missing all five shot attempts for just two points.

That soon changed with the Sixers hitting the first 10 points of the second half in just over the first two minutes which included Cotton draining his first shot of the afternoon.

In a matter of minutes, he racked up 13 points and the 36ers worked on top and while the Bullets kept fighting, Adelaide had the answers with those 21 second half Cotton points to win by 11 and to move further clear in top spot at 19-4 with five straight wins.

Cotton ended up with the 23 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals with 5/6 three-point shooting.

It was Zylan Cheatham who wasn’t going to let Adelaide lose, though, narrowly missing a triple-double with 17 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds with 11/14 foul shots.

Flynn Cameron continued his career-best form with 18 points, five rebounds and three assists while Isaac Humphries had 16 points, three boards and two blocks, and DJ Vasiljevic eight points with a couple of triples.

The fight was impressive for a Bullets team missing Harrison, Freeman-Liberty, Casey Prather, Taine Murray, Dakota Mathias and Lamar Patterson with the addition of Maldonado making a significant difference.

Having been released after his last game with the South East Melbourne Phoenix in the win over Brisbane on December 20, he was out there for the Bullets and delivered 16 points and nine assists.

Terry Taylor was vastly improved with the import power forward finishing with 18 points and seven rebounds with Alex Ducas hitting four of his team's five threes for 18 points.

Jacob Holt showed encouraging signs once more starting as centre in the absence of Harrison for 15 points, seven rebounds and two steals.

The home side were dealt a further blow when Sam McDaniel exited the contest in the opening term with a calf injury.

Despite being so undermanned and seemingly outmatched, the underdog Bullets showed great energy to burst out of the blocks and lead 20-15 at quarter-time.

They extended their advantage to 45-38 when Ducas drained a massive three on the half-time buzzer after Maldonado stole Cheatham's wayward touchdown pass.

Cotton had just two points on 0/5 shooting at the half before belatedly catching fire with a 13-point burst in the third period. The 36ers started the quarter with a 10-0 bang to pinch the lead, which they would not relinquish.

Taylor's vicious left-handed dunk on the three quarter-time bell following a Cotton turnover reduced Adelaide's lead to 68-65 and gave the Bullets a pulse, before Cotton buried his fourth and fifth triples early in the fourth to help the Sixers draw further clear.

The 36ers are now back home on Friday night to play host to the Tasmania JackJumpers with the Bullets having a Sunshine Stoush to look forward to in Cairns next Saturday against the Taipans.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2025/26

BRISBANE BULLETS 86 (Ducas 18, Taylor 18, Maldonado 16)

ADELAIDE 36ERS 97 (Cotton 23, Cameron 18, Cheatham 17)

BOX SCORE