36ers survive first-half scare to ward off Bullets

Steve Barrett | January 4, 2026

Top-of-the-table Adelaide have overcome a clunky first half and staved off the prospect of the biggest upset of the NBL season with a gritty 97-86 win over Brisbane.

The 36ers (19-4) were outscored by the ninth-ranked Bullets (6-18) in each of the first two quarters at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Sunday, before snapping out of their malaise with a 59-41 second half.

Bryce Cotton scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half, Flynn Cameron added 18, and Zylan Cheatham flirted with a triple-double, racking up 17 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

“We kept showing a lot of resilience,” Sixers coach Mike Wells said.

“To come out and start the third on a 10-0 run, that’s exactly the response we needed.

“I thought our guys kept regathering themselves and competing.”

Alex Ducas and Terry Taylor scored 18 apiece for Brisbane, while Hunter Maldonado paired 16 points with nine assists in his first game as a Bullet.

Luckless Brisbane were without big Tyrell Harrison (concussion) and import Javon Freeman-Liberty (hamstring) – on top of the season-ending absences of Casey Prather and Dakota Mathias.

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 halftime buzzer after Maldonado stole Cheatham’s wayward touchdown pass.

Cotton had just two points on 0-of-5 shooting at the half – hounded relentlessly by McDaniel, briefly, then Brisbane captain Mitch Norton – before belatedly catching fire with a 13-point 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.

“We competed,” interim Brisbane coach Darryl McDonald said.

“It’s tough when you’re losing players and guys are going down, but the guys out there are fighting.

“That’s all I can ask for.”