Overview
- Adelaide produced a 106-78 victory over Illawarra in a one-sided game that finished with a heated confrontation on Saturday at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
- Zylan Cheatham recorded a triple-double (21 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) while Bryce Cotton scored 22 points and Nick Rakocevic finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds to drive the 36ers’ dominance.
- The fourth-quarter melee began under the Adelaide basket when Rakocevic pushed Makur Maker, then Will Hickey shoved Rakocevic, which led to Maker being given a technical and a flagrant and being ejected with 3:51 remaining.
- Illawarra coach Justin Tatum said Makur Maker should not have been the only player ejected and criticised referee Chris Reid’s decisions that awarded Adelaide four free throws and possession; Adelaide coach Trevor Gleeson said he did not see how the incident started.
- No formal NBL disciplinary outcomes or reversals have been reported yet, and the episode could affect Hawks momentum on a heavy road stretch while potentially drawing further league scrutiny of the officiating.