36ers crush Slingers 104-77 in Adelaide
The Adelaide 36ers kept their NBL finals hopes alive with a crushing 104-77 win over the Singapore Slingers at the Distinctive Homes Dome in Adelaide.
The 36ers controlled large periods of the game with Adam Ballinger producing another remarkable display of offensive power to finish with 46 points.
The 36ers' Brad Davidson notched up 12 points with Brett Maher continuing to improve after his recent injury layoff to finish on 11.
Rod Grizzard was the stand-out performer for the Slingers with 25 points, while Ben Knight (12) and David Donaldson (9) gave some support for struggling outfit.
During the opening term the 36ers defence kept the Slingers under control, and with Maher in ominous form the home side set-up a 29-17 lead at the first break.
The 36ers lead jumped out to 16 points early in the second period, before Grizzard and Mike Helms wrestled back some of the momentum for the Slingers with a brace of three pointers.
Then Ballinger suddenly burst into life to slam home 19 points for the term, to give the 36ers a decisive 58-38 halftime advantage.
The Ballinger show continued after the break with another 10 points for the star import, as the 36ers eased away to a match winning 81-51 scoreline at three quarter time.
With the outcome decided, the bottom-placed Slingers showed some spirit in the final term, but Ballinger again set the stadium alight with another majestic three pointer before retiring to the sidelines.
36ers coach Phil Smyth described Ballinger's virtuoso performance as special.
"He said that he feels really comfortable in the style of game that we're playing and he's starting to feel better all the time," Smyth said.
"Any time you have a 46-point game you have to be pretty special and along with that he grabbed 10 rebounds.
"We talked about trying to be relentless all night and I thought the guys did a really good job off that.
"Being more relentless, you know, not mentally drifting in and out of the game, not making mistakes, it was a continuation of what we did against Sydney, we were just able to maintain it for a lot longer."
Slingers coach Gordon McLeod said this was his team's worst performance.
"Really I think the 36ers did their homework," he said.
"Obviously they started big and they went into the zone and they pressed us.
"We really struggled to come to grips with that.
"This team in this building, if you let them run and play and let the crowd get into it, then they are as tough as hell.
"They certainly were tonight."
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