Wells: Sped up Sixers left it too late against Kings

Adelaide 36ers Head Coach Mike Wells has lamented a slow start and an inability to play the way they wanted in the high scoring loss to the Kings in Sydney on Sunday.

An at times scrappy Sixers outfit turned the ball over 13 times and couldn’t get any real momentum after a strong start, eventually falling 106 to 101 at Qudos Bank Arena.

There were some positives - with new import John Jenkins scoring 20 points for the second time in his three games for the club (with 5/11 3PM to go with six rebounds and five assists) and the side fighting back late - but not enough in an otherwise disappointing encounter.

Wells gave the Kings credit for feeding off the energy of their biggest home crowd in three years, particularly in the first half.

“Unfortunately, the Adelaide 36ers pace, and what the Sydney Kings want to try to do, are two different paces,” he elaborated. “And we played at their pace.”

“They got us sped up a little bit, and then turnovers were the result of that.

“The 10 turnovers in the first half - every time where I thought we were starting to get our feet under us a little bit, there was a big play, and a run out, and a three…

“We played the second half at our pace. We won the second half, (so there) was a little consolation to that, but, that was more 36er basketball. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late.”

After a tight overtime game against New Zealand less than two days earlier and a flight across the ditch, the Sixers could have been excused for starting slowly, but they raced out of the blocks to lead by seven points in the first period, all while Bryce Cotton was kept scoreless for the term.

But the Kings, wearing pink in support of the McGrath Foundation, fought back, and former Sixer Kendrick Davis nailed a triple to pinch back the lead at Quarter Time.

The second period was a tale of two recent recruits with John Jenkins hitting seven points and having four assists for the Sixers and Torrey Craig getting 14 points for the Kings.

With some feeling in the game, Tim Soares and Zylan Cheatham each got tech fouls – Cheatham’s rather controversial – and buoyed by the huge home crowd, the Kings went on a 10-point scoring run to take a 13-point advantage into the half time break.

Still Cotton was held scoreless and uncharacteristically he had turned the ball over five times as the teams headed to the locker rooms.

He hit his first points of the game within a minute of the restart from three free throws, and even with Jenkins and DJ Vasiljevic hitting just about every shot they took from beyond the arc, the Kings seemed to have all the answers as the lead stretched out to 14 at the final change.

For all the Sixers threw at the Kings, they continued to respond.

Despite Cheatham fouling out, the Sixers mounted a late surge to bring the margin back into single figures, but left the run too late.

For Wells, it was another step in his side’s growth, particularly with Jenkins still learning how to fit into the lineup.

“It's kind of been a season of thirds for us, to be honest with you,” Wells explained.

“The first third of the year, we were able to play a certain way on both sides of the ball, and then we added Troy (Brown jnr) in kind of the middle third, and that looked really interesting on the defensive side…

“And now we're in this back third of, you know, a really, really good season with a really good record and yet we're kind of changing…

“You're trying to do some different things and explain how Kendrick Davis is going to play to John and, you know, trying to get him up to speed with everybody else that's out there on the floor.

“I have a feel for John in a different team setting with USA basketball, and I'm trying to blend (him) in with what I think here.”

The Sixers will next head to the Gold Coast to take on Brisbane on Wednesday night for Ignite Cup points.

A win would almost certainly see the Sixers claim a spot in the Ignite Cup final.