Wells feared déjà vu, Sixers delivered redemption

Mike Wells had seen it before, and after Game 2, it felt all too familiar.

But this time, the Adelaide 36ers flipped the script.

With a Championship Series berth on the line in what was effectively a Game 7, the Sixers delivered a complete performance to secure their place against Sydney.

Last season’s Play-In collapse against South East Melbourne still lingered. Adelaide led by 20 in the second quarter, only to be overrun 59-30 in the second half to end their campaign.

Game 2 of this series followed a similar pattern. The 36ers were up 18 in the second quarter, before the Phoenix surged with a 57-35 second half to force a decider back in Adelaide.

This time, there was no repeat.

Adelaide responded in dominant fashion, and it wasn’t just the 65 points and 10 triples from Bryce Cotton and DJ Vasiljevic that made the difference.

The Sixers controlled the glass 52-31, edged the offensive boards 15-13, and got to the line relentlessly, converting 23 of 31 free throws compared to South East Melbourne’s 11 of 13.

It was a complete, composed response, and one that left Wells full of pride as his side booked its spot in the Championship Series.

"Finishing last year with a disappointing fourth quarter that started in the third was really hard so you have to reorganise and recalibrate, and you sign a new team and kinda refigure things out," Wells said.

"Then to have that Game 2 go the way it did in the third quarter didn’t feel real good, and it was almost like déjà vu for me but to have another chance that we didn’t have last year, that's the work over 33 regular season games.

"We weren't in a one-game shootout, we were in a series, and I thought we played in the first two games we played seven outstanding quarters, and just that third quarter (Game 2) wasn’t very good and probably not up to Sixers standard.

"Then for this team on this journey to be able to basically play a Game 7 with a team we were 3-3 with, I couldn’t be more proud.

"The way we won Game 7 was a 17-point first quarter and we came out and took care of the third quarter, we took care of the boards, we won the offensive boards and crushed them on the glass totally."

Wells embraced the decider as a true Game 7 environment, and for him, it underlined just how decisive home court advantage can be.

"I expected to win tonight, we're at home in Game 7 and that's what it was, and (the crowd) was awesome and it's a Tuesday night too, our fans are amazing," Wells said.

"For me I can't talk to anybody and the only person that heard me was Michael Aylen and he T'd me and there was a couple of times after DJ made a three that you couldn't hear yourself, and I think our home crowd affected them.

"It's a real sixth man environment and they definitely help us."