The Adelaide 36ers have made history, becoming the first NBL team to claim a win against an NBA side as they took down the Phoenix Suns by 10 points.
Adelaide started strong against the Suns and then didn’t let up, leading at the end of all four periods en route to a 134 - 124 victory.
The Adelaide 36ers just became the first NBL team to win an #NBLxNBA preseason game, beating the Phoenix Suns 134-124. The 36ers shot 24/43 (55.8%) from behind the 3pt line.
— Olgun Uluc (@OlgunUluc) October 3, 2022
New import signing Craig Randall II was absolutely transcendent, scoring 35 points on 61.9% shooting, including 9-17 from three in a performance for the ages.
Not to be outdone, fellow imports Robert Franks and Antonius Cleveland also delivered huge performances with 32 and 22 points respectively, while Mitch McCarron steadied the ship with a jaw-dropping 16-assist effort.
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) October 3, 2022
Phoenix genuinely looked unable to do anything to hold off the 36ers; three Suns scored at least 22 points in Cam Payne, Miles Bridges, and Deandre Ayton, but Adelaide’s seemingly impossible shooting was enough to see them comfortably take the win.
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NBL fans would have recognised a few faces on the Phoenix Suns lineup - Jock Landale played 22 minutes, the 2021 Melbourne United Finals MVP facing off against former teammate McCarron. Former NBL player Torrey Craig also featured significantly in this one, scoring 10 points in 25 minutes.
randall, franks & cleveland hooping
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) October 3, 2022
36ers are absolutely on fire whaaaaat
— Jamal Murray (@BeMore27) October 3, 2022
Adelaide 36ers…👀
— josh giddey (@joshgiddey) October 3, 2022
With these cross-league games having been held since 2017, this is the first time that an Australian team has ever won, the closest before this being Melbourne United taking the Oklahoma City Thunder to overtime in 2017 before losing by a single point.
Next, the 36ers will prepare to face off against the Thunder, who feature a familiar face in Adelaide and NBL alumni Josh Giddey.
And after handling business against one of the best teams in the NBA, it’s not out of the question that Adelaide could potentially claim two straight.
