Franks fires 36ers in second half avalanche

A blistering third quarter performance as handed Adelaide 36ers their third win at the NBL Blitz in Darwin, overpowering Illawarra Hawks 84-77 on Thursday night.

Star import Robert Franks kept Adelaide afloat as the 36ers fought back from almost 20 points down in the first half.

After building into his NBL Blitz campaign, Franks, who had a game-high 30 points to go with 10 rebounds, started strongly, scoring seven first quarter points, finding his shot from long range.

Daniel Johnson also began aggressive, his three-point play caused the Hawks into an early time out.

But Illawarra hit back straight away, former Charlotte Hornet Mangok Mathiang and import George King coming off the bench to spark the Hawks, who scored 18 of the next 24 points.

Adelaide captain Mitch McCarron connected on a layup to end a 13-0 Hawks run, but Mathiang finished off an alley-oop on the quarter time buzzer as Illawarra took a 26-17 lead.

Kevin White opened the second quarter with a triple as the Hawks lead increased to double digits.

But Franks continued his scoring spree, hitting another triple, converting three free throws and scoring under the hoop as Adelaide looked to get back into the contest.

Illawarra continued to score with ease, knocking down three-pointers and finding a lane to the basket, building their lead to 39-27 before 36ers head coach CJ Bruton called his second time out of the first half.

Mathiang continued his hot first half, swishing a triple to have 12 points at 100 per cent as the Hawks shot the lights out from the field at 56 per cent.

Down at the other end, Adelaide couldn’t buy a basket, shooting just 34 per cent from the field in the opening 20 minutes and were down as much as 19 before heading into the main interval trailing 52-37.

Adelaide came out breathing fie to start the third quarter, a triple from Randall II was followed by a great drive to the hoop, then Franks threw down a huge left-handed dunk in transition, Randall II found McCarron for a lay-up and Franks connected again from the perimeter as the 36ers went on an early 12-0 run.

Randall II (16 points) caught fire from three-point range, connecting on some tough shots as he connected with Franks and McCarron to continue the scoring punch.

The offensive explosion was impressive, but it was the increased focus at the defensive end which sparked the 36ers into action, holding the Hawks to just 13 points for the quarter, but a Tim Coenraad three-pointer on buzzer gave Illawarra a 65-64 edge with 10 minutes to play.

Kai Sotto impacted the fourth quarter in style, finishing at the rim, including one thunderous dunk, while also protecting the rim and changing several Hawks shots.

Johnson, who had a double-double of 15 points and 22 rebounds, came to life in the final stanza, living at the free throw line, while stepping up to guard Boomer Sam Froling during crunch time to great effect.

The victory gives Adelaide 17 NBL Blitz points and the 36ers will retain the Loggins-Bruton Cup if Brisbane Bullets score five points or less in their last match against Melbourne United.

Bruton resisted the urge to play boom off-season recruit Antonius Cleveland against his former team, the reigning NBL Defensive Player of the Year getting a much-needed rest after dominating across the first two matches.

The 36ers travel back to Adelaide on Friday to continue preparations for the club’s two NBL x NBA games against Phoenix Suns and Oklahoma City Thunder next month in the US.

ADELAIDE 36ERS 84 (Franks 30, Randall II 16, Johnson 15) def ILLAWARRA HAWKS 77 (King 20, Mathiang 14, Harvey 10) at Marrara Indoor Stadium.

BOX SCORE